Housing Development Corporation Limited (HDC) has stated that the development of Thilafushi Phase II is ongoing with dredging operations progressing at a fast pace.
China-based Harbour Engineering Company Limited began the dredging operations in March as part of the project to develop Thilafushi in Kaafu Atoll, as an industrial hub. The dredging operations are split into different areas and operations have been completed in Areas C and D, with a total of 28 hectares reclaimed. The company has begun operations in the other areas and plans to reclaim 72 hectares in Area A, 40 hectares in Area B, six hectares in Area E, and 0.7 hectares in Area F.
While guiding journalists on a tour of the sites, the Project Manager at HDC Hussain Hanan Ahmed said that two areas have been reclaimed and that construction of shore protection structures will begin soon. He said that the other areas are expected to be reclaimed by May next year.
HDC plans to reclaim 150 hectares and open 60% of the land plots to businesses as part of the Thilafushi Master Plan. Currently, over 200 businesses are operating in Thilafushi. The Thilafushi lagoon was first reclaimed 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 is undertaking the dredging, reclamation, and shore protection of an area of 150 hectares allocated as Thilafushi Phase II. The area will be distributed into six different zones, including zones for major and minor industrial works. An area will also be allocated for the development of a liquified natural gas plant. Other zones will be allocated for mixed offices and small businesses.