Hithadhoo Port Limited (HPL) has revealed that some of the equipment needed to begin the land reclamation project of Addu City has been delivered.
The government contracted the project to Van Oord, a Dutch maritime contracting company, earlier this year. HPL, which operates the Hithadhoo regional port stated that a cargo vessel called HC MELINA arrived with machinery and equipment needed for the project.
The Addu City Land Reclamation Project is worth USD84 million and is conducted under a direct line of credit facility from the Exim Bank of India. The company is set to reclaim land from Hithadhoo, Maradhoo, Maradhoo-Feydhoo, and two islands within the confines of the lagoon for the purpose of tourism development. The reclamation project is estimated to be completed within 18 months. Additionally, the land reclamation projects in Hulhudhoo and Meedhoo were awarded to Maldives Transport Contracting Company Limited. (MTCC). A total of 194.3 hectares of land is set to be reclaimed in Addu as part of the project.
The land reclamation project initiated under the Addu Development Project will solve the land shortage in the city for the next 50 years.