President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Monday inaugurated the second phase of the Gulhifalhu land reclamation project.
Speaking at the project inauguration ceremony, President Solih said the purpose of the project is to acquire additional land for the government's landowner scheme. The project will alleviate the difficulties faced by the people of Male' city, he said.
“This is the largest project in the history of the Maldives to allocate land in the Male' area,” he said.
The second phase of the reclamation project will dredge 150 hectares of land. The project was awarded to Boskalis Westminster Contracting Ltd. for EUR 120 million, equivalent to MVR 2 billion.
In addition to providing land for the Binveriya housing scheme, the land reclamation project would also support the development of the Gulhifalhu port. President Solih announced that the administration plans to allocate 2,000 housing plots in Gulhifalhu while reserving another 2,000 for the housing scheme in Giraavarufalhu.
According to Boskalis, about 18 million cubic meters of sand will be needed to dredge the land. The company said it would install revetment to protect the newly dredged land.
