The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has decided to grant a Dh22 million (MVR92 million) loan to the Maldives to help clean energy projects undertaken by the government. The National, an Abu Dhabi-based English language daily, said the loan would help the Maldives government to build a waste-to-energy plant aimed at solving three environmental and health problems. The plant is expected to reduce the need for landfills, a serious issue for small island nations where space is limited, generate 2MW of clean energy and produce 62 million litres of potable water a year through desalination. About 120,000 people are expected to benefit from the scheme. The concessionary loan is part of a Dh150 million (MVR6.2 billion) to be given for clean energy projects in six developing countries, including the Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Ecuador and Samoa. This is the first round in a seven-year cycle that will see Dh1.3 billion (MVR54 billion) provided to developing countries by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, in cooperation with the International Renewable Energy Agency.