Maldives opposition questions govt; says 200mn dollar Chinese bridge a debt trap

Abdulla Yameen. File Pic

The Maldives opposition have said that President Abdulla Yameen had pushed the Indian Ocean nation deeper into a Chinese "debt trap" with a new $200 million bridge opened just ahead of the country's election.

Yameen commissioned the bridge with a Chinese fireworks display late Thursday night amid his campaign for the controversial September 23 vote, ahead of which he has jailed or forced into exile all of his main opponents.

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) said the 1.4 kilometre three-lane bridge linking Male to the airport island was a symbol of Yameen's "corruption". "There was huge corruption involved in this deal," MDP spokesman Hamid Abdul Ghafoor said. "We are getting pushed into the Chinese debt trap."

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever