Housing Development Corporation (HDC) has contracted a China-based company to begin the reclamation of Thilafalhu next month.
Speaking to PSM News, Manager Mohamed Shamin said preparations have been made to begin the reclamation work and that HDC signed the contract in order to mobilise the project site at the beginning of 2023. He said the reclamation project will be split into three stages, and the first stage involves reclaiming 40 hectares, which will be completed within 12 months. He said the land plots will be open to businesses after the reclamation and that the plots will be split into different commercial and economic categories. He added that the master plan will be completed within 3-4 years.
HDC inaugurated the master plan to develop Thilafushi into the main industrial hub of the Maldives earlier this month. Thilafushi was first reclaimed with the landfill at the Thilafalhu lagoon near Male’ City in 1991 and made into a waste management site, and has since been repeatedly reclaimed to increase its land area to 100 hectares. The last reclamation project in 2016 added 22 hectares. A large part of Thilafalhu has still not been reclaimed and the government has decided to make the area an industrial hub.
HDC, which currently manages Thilafushi, inaugurated the master plan to develop Thilafushi in accordance with the government’s vision. As part of the plan, HDC will be reclaiming 150 hectares and opening 60% of the land plots to businesses. Currently, over 200 businesses are operating in Thilafushi.