JEDDAH: The Muslim Education Trust (MET) of India is going to launch a mega community-based project in cooperation with the All-India IDB-Graduate Association (AIGA).

The proposed MET-AIGA Hospital Project and Research Center is being launched after a series of discussions and consultations with different international voluntary agencies and community leaders, said Akhtar Siddiqi, a Jeddah-based MET official.

The plan will take the final shape after Amanullah Khan, the MET chairman, visits Saudi Arabia next month ostensibly to meet a large number of expatriates and also with officials of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB).

Siddiqi said the aim is to take initiatives in economic development and social progress of the Muslim community through education, but within the parameters of the principles of Shariah.

Work has already begun on the project, which is based in Aligarh city, 140 km from Delhi. Aligarh is one of the fast developing hubs of educational and health activities.

According to Siddiqi, a portion of planned budget for construction of buildings and equipment will be covered by MET/AIGA funds, but MET will reach out to community members to seek their participation in this ambitious project, he said.

Established as an NGO in 1989, MET is currently the Counterpart Organization (CPO) of the IDB Scholarship Program in India, which includes managing graduates’ refunds and organizing additional scholarships on similar lines.