The developers of a luxury island resort opening this year the Maldives have claimed it will be one of the most eco-conscious ever created in South Asia – with thousands of solar panels used as a design feature.

Developer Crown & Champa Resorts claims that the Hurawalhi Island Resort will “put as much back into its surroundings as it takes out.”

New York architect Yuji Yamazaki has created a futuristic, contemporary collection of villas and resort facilities, located on stilts over the water, by using 4,243sq m of solar panels – equivalent to 26 volleyball courts.

Sixty per cent of the resort will be powered by solar energy. Other green initiatives include access to a local water bottling plant to reduce plastic consumption; food and water recycling facilities; a collection of greenhouses, fertilised by food waste, to produce organic produce for guests; a desalination system which filters sea-water and turns it into clean water for drinking and cooking, and supplies rainfall showers in the resort’s villas.

“In a fragile environment like the Maldives, eco-conscious operations should be the norm,” said the developer in a statement, “It’s possible to care for the environment without sacrificing elegance, luxury and a highly personalised approach to service.

“We want to focus on three areas: healthy people, healthy planet and healthy local communities.”

The centrepiece of the Hurawalhi Island Resort will be an underwater restaurant, billed as the world's largest, created by marine design specialists M.J. Murphy.