Greater Male' Industrial Zone Limited (GMIZL) has announced 57 companies have requested chemical storage facilities from Thilafushi, Kaafu Atoll.
After a tragic fire on September 20 that originated in a chemical storage facility in Male' City, the government has decided to move all chemical storage facilities to non-residential areas. After inspections, Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) revealed 83 of 126 chemical storage facilities are located in residential areas in the capital city.
The government has decided to move these facilities from residential areas to Thilafushi to ensure public safety. With the decision to move them to Thilafushi, GMIZL asked companies to register for plots to store chemical and other goods.
GMIZL has revealed that a total of 57 companies have requested for storages in Thilafushi thus far. GMIZL initially announced to issue 200 plots. It plans to give priority to companies that handles dangerous chemicals.
The company has also announced to attract contracts to develop the storage facilities in Thilafushi. GMIZL explained although 18 companies expressed their interest to develop the facilities, only 6 companies submitted bid documents. GMIZL is currently evaluating the bids to award the project. GMIZL intends to award the project to be completed within 25-35 days. GMIZL aims to issue the storage facilities within a period of two months.
The newly developed chemical storage facilities will adhere to recently set government standards on storing, moving and distributing chemical products, according to the state-owned company managing Thilafushi. The storages would also be equipped with fire extinguishers in addition to ensuring safety of the storages and people.