Planning Minister Mohamed Aslam has stated that the government will not target to develop a single island of a region under the National Development Plan, and will instead develop the region in such a way that the islands in each region are interconnected and dependent on each other.
During Tuesday's parliament sitting, Aslam said the government does not intend to only develop the main five islands designated from each region. Further sub regions will be established, and islands in each sub region as well as islands in satellite clusters will be developed individually, said Aslam.
"There will not be much difference between sub-regions and main-regions. There is no obstruction for sub-regions in becoming more developed than a main region. The work doesn't stop there, it begins here", said Aslam.
Makunudoo MP Mohamed Raaee noted that Makunudhoo is naturally situated away from the rest of the islands in the constituency, and asked what the government's plans were for the island.
In response, Minister Aslam said Makunudhoo has not been assigned to any regions, as Makunudhoo is isolated from other islands in the area. However, the government's policy will not exclude any islands, assured the minister.
"The people living in the region will not have to travel to a single island alone to fill their purposes. We will include some aspect of development in each island in the region on which citizens will be dependent. We will include a pull factor to each island. Therefore, Makunudhoo, and other similar islands will not be excluded", said Aslam.
Planning Minister Mohamed Aslam
