Fenaka to complete school AC project before January

Fenaka Corporation has been contracted to complete the installation of air conditioning in all schools across Maldives by January, ahead of the new academic year.

The project is part of the government’s “Cool School” initiative, launched in June last year, which aims to air-condition classrooms and school halls nationwide within two years. The Education Ministry signed an agreement with Fenaka on Thursday, awarding the company MVR 54 million to complete the project.

At a ceremony held at the Ministry of Education, Education Minister Dr Ismail Shafeeu and Fenaka Managing Director Mohamed Najah signed the agreement.

Speaking at the event, Minister Shafeeu said that temperatures in Maldives can at times exceed 40 degrees Celsius, and that ensuring a comfortable environment for students is a top priority.

“We started this project with the goal of air-conditioning all schools within two years. The target is to deliver the AC units to schools by the end of September,” the minister said.

Najah added that along with the installation of air conditioning, electricity infrastructure across the islands would also be strengthened.

“Under the President’s guidance, we are also upgrading the water and sewerage systems in all islands. With the current schedule [from September to January] we believe this target is achievable,” he said.

The government has said that the nationwide air-conditioning project has increased current expenditure by 38 percent.

The Minister earlier said that have also stated that around 30 per cent of the energy used for the project will be drawn from renewable sources.