Chinese Ambassador Zhang Lizhong responded to Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed's assertions that Maldives owed China USD 3.4 billion as repayment for loans taken during former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom's administrations.
Speaking at the annual conference of Indian think-tanks, Nasheed also stated that, starting from 2020, 15 percent of Maldives' annual state budget would be spent on repaying loans taken from various Chinese companies.
Nasheed stated that India's GMR group proposed to finance the Sinamale' Bridge project for USD 77 million while the China Communication and Contracting Company (CCCC) presented a higher price. The former president stated that Maldives was indebted USD 300 million to the company.
Referring to statistics from Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), Ambassador Lizhong stated that only USD 1.53 billion of Maldives' overall debts of USD 3.21 billion were to be repaid to China.
He detailed that loans from China included USD 872 million in concessional loans and USD 657 million in preferential loans.
Additionally, the Ambassador stated that Sinamale Bridge project had totalled USD 198 million.
The Chinese government had freely funded USD 116 million of the project while the Maldivian government spent USD 12 million. The amount loaned by China for the bridge project was USD 72 million.
The former administration maintained close bilateral and economic ties with the Chinese government which provided the highest amount of foreign aid during the period.
In addition to the construction of Sinamale' Bridge, the previous government utilized Chinese loans to further develop Velana International Airport (VIA) and finance social housing projects.
On a previous occasion, Nasheed had warned that Maldives was falling into a debt trap with China. Expressing the belief that the figure should be verified, Nasheed claimed that the Chinese government stated that debt figures amounted to USD 3.2 billion.
In response Nasheed's earlier assertions of Maldives being heavily indebted to China as a result of high-interest loans, Ambassador Lizhong assured that China had no agenda other than aiding Maldives' development efforts.
Former Economic Minister and current Maavah MP Mohamed Saeed responded to Nasheeds statements, asserting that the debt levels were nowhere close to USD 3.2 billion.
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