Registration is open for those who wish to travel to Kudagiri picnic island from 4:00 pm today.
The Housing Development Corporation (HDC)'s Marketing Director Niushad Shareef told reporters at the HDC Head Office today that bookings and payments can be made through a special mobile application and website. Each person who books a trip to Kudagiri will be allowed to book seven other people.
The picnic island developed for the people of Male' City is scheduled to be officially opened on Saturday.
"We initially decided to accommodate 200 people who wanted to travel to Kudagiri on opening day. However, after discussions, we have now decided to allow 300 people," Niushad said.
According to Niushad, Kudagiri currently has a capacity of 1,200 people. The goal is to increase that number to 1,500, he added.
No ferry fare will be charged if traveling to Kudagiri during the weekend. Those traveling to Kudagiri will have to pay MVR 25 per person for the ferry ticket if they are traveling on weekdays. Children under the age of 12 will be charged half price. No fee will be taken for children under two years of age.
Twelve rooms have been designated as day use rooms for public use in Kudagiri. 13 small platforms and 4 large platforms will be available for public use. Sports facilities include a volleyball court, basketball court, outdoor mini football court, children's playground, dive center and water sports centre.
In addition, an admin building, a front office, and a security office are on the island. 44 CCTV cameras have been installed in different parts of the islands.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih made a presidential pledge to develop a picnic island for the people living in the Male' area. In 2019, the government designated a lagoon to develop the island near Male'. The Planning Ministry awarded the project to MTCC in 2021 to dredge the lagoon and develop the picnic island. The work was awarded to be completed in 150 days at a cost of MVR 41.4 million. While eight hectares of land were dredged for the project, the scope of the project also included a 397.27-meter rock breakwater and 428.32-meter rock groyne.
