Malé, Maldives – Construction of the detention center for undocumented expatriates will be completed within the next one and half months, reveals Economic Minister Fayyaz Ismail.
Speaking at the Foreign Relations Sub-Committee of the Parliament, Fayyaz revealed that the issue of undocumented expatriates is one that has been neglected for years, and that for this reason the government especially prioritises the matter, of which some results can be seen even now.
Detailing the gravity of the situation, he revealed that a total of 43,000 individuals registered themselves as undocumented, out of which, only 20,000 remain in the Maldives awaiting repatriation. As these individuals are residing in the country with no legal documents, the issue can only be solved by moving the individuals to a single location in order to provide them with passports and other legal documents, he said.
According to Fayyaz, the project is now being funded by Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) as part of its CSR program. However, the official government website for projects www.isles.gov.mv reflects that the project is funded by the “government of Maldives” and that the status of the project is marked as “stopped”, at the time of publishing this article.
The MTCC website does not provide information pertaining to this project either.
The center, also dubbed “Expat Accommodation Facility” by the government will have the capacity to accommodate 250 people.
