The practical work on the development of B. Thulhaadhoo Airport has commenced. During a ceremony held as part of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s ongoing tour to some islands of B. Atoll, the Minister of Housing, Construction and Infrastructure, Dr. Abdullah Muttalib, officially inaugurated the construction work of the airport. The government had previously contracted Capital Marine and Construction in 2023 to reclaim 44.70 hectares of land for the Thulhaadhoo Airport development. However, due to delays in starting the actual work, that agreement was terminated, and the project has now been reassigned to MTCC.
In his address to the people of Thulhaadhoo, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu assured that although it took some time to arrange the financial aspects of the Thulhaadhoo Airport project, the work will continue uninterrupted at a rapid pace. The President mentioned that the previous government had finalized the work with the then-council without consulting the island’s residents, and some misunderstandings related to the project were noted during the meeting with the current council. The President shared the changes the government is making to the Thulhaadhoo Airport project with the residents. He stated that with these changes, sand will be extracted from outside the lagoon instead of from within, which will expedite the entire project.
“We are starting the work based on the previously approved EIA. However, I want to mention that we will be making some changes,” the President said. “The EIA had approved the concept of cutter suction dredging, extracting sand from within the lagoon. This was for both reclaiming land needed for the island and the airport development. We are starting the work today based on that EIA. This is approximately a 660-day project. The change we will introduce is that as the project progresses, we will switch to using a hopper dredger to extract sand from outside this lagoon.”
During the ceremony held to meet with the people of Thulhaadhoo as part of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s tour to B. Atoll, the agreement for the Thulhaadhoo Airport development project was signed. Dr. Abdullah Muttalib signed on behalf of the Ministry of Housing, Construction and Infrastructure, while Ahmed Saudee, the Managing Director of MTCC, signed for the company. The practical work of the project was also inaugurated during this trip. The Minister of Housing, Construction and Infrastructure, Dr. Abdullah Muttalib, officially started the land reclamation work for the airport development using MTCC’s large dredger. The sand for reclamation will be extracted from outside Thulhaadhoo’s lagoon. The work is scheduled to be completed within 660 days.
The airport being developed in Thulhaadhoo will feature a 1800-meter long and 30-meter wide runway. According to the Ministry of Construction, the project involves reclaiming 55.4 hectares of land, constructing a 2804-meter rock revetment, and a 1677-meter geobag revetment. In 2023, this work was initially contracted to Capital Marine and Construction Company. At that time, the contract was for reclaiming 44.70 hectares of land.
