Chinese relief arrives in Maldives

cctv.com 01-13-2005 10:39

900,000 US dollars of Chinese aid, including vital power generation equipment, has arrived in the Maldives.

A cargo plane brought the consignment in on Wednesday evening. The load included four 26 kilowatt diesel generators, and more than 1,200 gasoline generators. The goods also include 6,000 packages of instant noodles, 6,400 packages of biscuits and nearly 10,000 bottles of mineral water.

Zhao Zhanfang, business counsellor of China Embassy to the Maldives, said, "China has sent immediate relief aid to the countries hit by the tsunami. But because the Maldives international airport was flooded, our earlier support has been mainly through cash. As soon as the airport reopened, China organized this cargo plane to bring relief goods to the local people. The power generation equipment is as important as the food and drinking water. It is badly needed to generate power to enable people to start rebuilding."

The relief goods arrived after the visit of a Chinese delegation headed by Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei. The tsunami killed at least 82 people and displaced more than 20,000 in the Maldives. Property loss is estimated to be at least 1.3 billion US dollars, which is twice the country's annual GDP.

Editor:Chen Zhuo  Source:CCTV.com