The President's Office has revealed that only 27% of the Thilamale' Bridge projects has been completed, despite the contractor having been scheduled to complete 77% of the project up to this point.
The new administration has been looking into the major projects commenced by the previous government to determine the reasons for the delay in completion of the projects. They have expressed concern that the project is nowhere near complete despite nearing the deadline, highlighting the importance of the project's completion for the national economy.
At a press conference, Under Secretary for Public Policy at the President's Office Mohamed Firzul shared information on the timeline of the project which were obtained by the transitional committees. He also said that the government plans to evaluate the project further in its first 100 days in order to accelerate the fieldwork.
Additionally, Firzul said that the project is only 27% complete despite the timeline showing that the contractor was required to reach 77% completion up to this point. He said that the government plans to ascertain the current situation, identify the issues that are leading to delays, identify solutions, and provide a revised project timeline. He noted that the government is already in discussions with contractors to speed-up the major development projects.
Thilamale’ Bridge is being developed under the Greater Male’ Connectivity Project (GMCP) and is contracted to Indian-based Afcons Infrastructure Limited. The GMCP is the single-largest infrastructure project in the Maldives and is funded through a USD400 million Line of Credit from the Indian Exim Bank and by a USD100 million grant from the government of India.
The project was commissioned in August 2022. It consists of three bridges, a causeway, and a road network spanning over 6.7km. It will also see the development of interchange points and parking zones at each connection stop. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2024.
The latest information provided by the previous government showed that workers were conducting marine piling works to install pillars of the Thilamale' Bridge between Male' City and Villimale'. They stated workers were making pre-casts of various components and building the main deck. In addition, the work on the superstructures have begun along with the marine piling works using the two jackup platforms near Male' and Villimale'.
The previous government stated that that the bridge will first connect Male' City to Villimale' and then Villimale' to Gulhifalhu and that the current work consists of building the main deck. The marine pillars that have already been installed are visible at sea.