India and Maldives today signed a contract for development of five eco-tourism zones in Addu atoll of the island nation.<br />'' <br />''Maldives foreign secretary Abdul Ghafoor, MPs representing Addu city and Indian high commissioner Sunjay Sudhir participated in the ceremony.<br />'' <br />''These eco tourism zones are part of grant projects being implemented under the High-Impact Community Development project (HICDP) scheme which involves a total grant assistance of  5.5 million US dollars to the Maldives.<br />'' <br />''Currently, there are 9 such high-impact projects being implemented in the Maldives.<br />'' <br />''High Commissioner Sunjay Sudhir, in his remarks, highlighted that developing high-impact assets, building capacities within the local councils and supporting of the local island economy are most important objectives of these projects.<br />'' <br />''He recalled that contracts for the other three HICDP projects in Addu, relating to setting up of fish-processing plants, were awarded last month. <br />'' <br />''<span style="color: #222222;">He remarked that taken together, these projects could be expected to bring about a transformation in the economic and employment landscape of Addu.</span><br />