Kuwait Fund enters Maldivian health sector with loan for Th. Veymandoo hospital

For the first time in a relationship stretching back half a century, the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) is putting money into Maldivian healthcare. On 4 November 2026 the government and the Fund signed a loan of KWD 3 million, roughly USD 9.7 million, to build a 50-bed hospital in Th. Veymandoo.

Hassan Zareer, the Minister of Finance and Public Enterprises, signed for the Maldives and Rashaid A. Al-Bader, Acting Director General of KFAED, for the Fund, according to the finance ministry. The Minister of Health, Family and Welfare attended alongside senior Fund officials.

Purpose of the hospital

The Th. Veymandoo New Hospital Construction Project is intended to give the island and its neighbouring communities a modern, fully equipped facility for secondary healthcare. The ministry said the objectives are to put quality care within easy reach of Th. Atoll's residents, relieve the shortage of space at the existing hospital, broaden the range of services and use space for treatment and equipment more efficiently.

The financing sits inside the USD 10 million a year that the Fund currently allows for the Maldives.

A 50-year relationship

Al-Bader said the loan, the 15th the Fund has extended to the Maldives, is also its first investment in health. Co-operation between the two dates to a first agreement in 1976, 50 years ago, and has so far comprised:

• 14 concessional loans, together worth about USD 185 million
• grants and technical assistance of USD 5.7 million

Zareer cited the Fund's earlier backing for the Fuvahmulah Coastal Protection Project, development projects at Velana International Airport and the new terminal expansion. He characterised the agreement as a joint investment in the future prosperity, health and well-being of Maldivians, adding that in a country dispersed across many islands, fair and accessible healthcare is a national priority.

Higher ceiling from 2027

At a courtesy call after the ceremony, KFAED said it would lift its annual lending limit for the Maldives to about USD 40 million a year from 2027, up from USD 10 million. Zareer had requested the increase in talks held alongside an Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Annual Meeting. The Thilafushi port development project also drew strong interest from the Fund, which said it was prepared to begin talks on financing it.

The ministry gave no details of the loan's terms, nor any timetable for starting or completing construction.