Officials from China on Wednesday handed over to the Maldivian government a housing project aimed at accommodating residents moving from surrounding small environment-vulnerable islands.

Jiang Yiman, Executive Vice President of the Red Cross Society of China, said at the handing over ceremony that the tsunami-rebuilding project not only provided new houses for 66 families, it also created new opportunities for the development of the Funadhoo island, some 200 km north of the capital Male.

She wished the residents in these new houses a happy and prosperous life.

Maldivian Planning and National Development Minister Hamdun Hameed expressed his gratitude to the Chinese people for their generous help after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 82 people and devastated many islands in the Maldives.

The program was co-funded by the Red Cross Society of China and China Charity Federation with a total amount of about US$3 million dollars.

The harbor of Funadhoo was partly damaged in the 2004 tsunami, but officials said the small islands near Funadhoo are more vulnerable to natural disasters like tsunami.

The project was carried out by the Sino-Hydro Corporation, a leading construction company in China.

Funadhoo is the capital of Shaviyani Atoll with an area of 87 hectares and a population of about 1,600.

The Maldivian government is planning to build an airport in the island to promote the development of the region.

(Xinhua News Agency April 10, 2008)