Ministry: Public opinion considered for development plans

The opinion of the public will be taken into consideration before the development plans for the country are unveiled, according to the Planning and Infrastructure Ministry. 

The first draft of this development plan was already complete and will be made public after taking into account the views and opinions of the public, Ministry officials stated in the "Nuvagadi" program held yesterday. The National Planning Department of the Ministry stated that the second draft will soon be completed and will be presented for cabinet endorsement soon.

While there hasn't been a development plan for the Maldives in over two decades, the current plan is aimed at achieving results between 2020 and 2023. The plan is also set to include a five-year strategic action plan and will not isolate any islands in the country. The plan is formulated so that Maldivians will gain high-quality services, according to the Ministry.

The government has previously divulged its plans to create regional hubs around the country and develop the surrounding or closeby islands through these hubs. This will allow people to get high-quality services by remaining at their native islands without migrating.

Planning Minister Mohamed Aslam has previously stated that this development plan will make islands dependent on each other for development. "Our development plan for the country is to create one central region, five main regions, nice sub-regions, and six satellite regions," said the Minister.

The Minister also stated that there won't be much difference between main regions and sub-regions under this plan and that no obstacles will stand in the way of sub-regions advancing further than main regions under this plan.