By Ibrahim H. Shihab/Maldives Republic
Male, November13: Two Chinese companies have been awarded contracts to reclaim the last two of the 12 sites to be developed as part of the Mohamed Muizzu administration’s Rasmalé project. The housing and other related development projects at Rasmalé are positioned as the Muizzu administration’s most significant and ambitious undertakings.
The initial phase of land reclamation for the Rasmalé project—one of Muizzu’s key pledges—faced several delays and is now proceeding with a significant loan secured through the state-owned Housing Development Corporation (HDC).
To date, only 29 hectares have been reclaimed at Site J. Nine of the remaining 11 sites have been awarded to India’s Mohan Mutha Exports (MME) and China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC).
HDC has awarded the dredging work at two sites, Sites C and E, to China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC)—the main contractor for the Sinamalé Bridge.
Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the dredging of the last two sites, which will take six years to complete. According to the schedule, the dredging and beach protection work will be completed by 17 May 2026.
In addition to the two sites, Site B, a 144-hectare area previously assigned to CRCC, was also included in the EIA, with the completion period stipulated at 11 months— should work proceed to schedule, work at Site B will be complete by 30 September 2025.
According to the latest satellite images, work is currently underway only at Site D, which has been assigned to MME. While the bund wall is progressing at a slow pace, the 264-hectare site is the largest section of land to be reclaimed for the Rasmalé project.
The administration initiated dredging for the Rasmalé project at Fushidhiggaru Falhu, south of Kaafu Atoll, on the condition of providing an extended lease of 10 hectares of land at Hulhumalé and an additional 60 hectares at Fushidhiggaru Falhu to CMCC. This was after the opposition-controlled parliament cut MVR 400 million that had been earmarked by Muizzu for the project from the 2023 budget. Muizzu, however, doubled down by announcing that the land reclamation would proceed without any expenditure from the state budget.
However, the administration’s initial plan failed, and while the entire project was to be financed by CMCC under a contractor financing model, MVR 77 million was paid to CMCC to complete Site J.
According to the latest EIA reports, the project has been funded by a loan obtained through HDC; however, neither the administration nor HDC has disclosed any details regarding the loan.
While the loan figure has not been confirmed, Minister of Construction and Infrastructure Abdulla Muththalib had earlier said that dredging approximately 1,100 hectares in the area would cost between US$500 million and US$700 million.
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