Housing Development Corporation Limited (HDC) has revealed that the dredging operations of Area B of the Thilafushi Phase II development project have been completed.
China-based Harbour Engineering Company Limited began the dredging operations of an area spanning 40 hectares 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 currently been completed in Areas C, D, and B. The company has begun operations in the other areas and plans to reclaim 72 hectares in Area A, six hectares in Area E, and 0.7 hectares in Area F.
HDC plans to reclaim 150 hectares and open 60% of the land plots to businesses as part of the Thilafushi Master Plan. 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 the area 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.