Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) has stated port operations at K. Thilafushi will begin this month under the project to relocate Male' Commercial Harbor to Thilafushi.
The project is set to finish by November 2027, with President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu paying a visit to Thilafushi yesterday to review the project's progress. During the visit, MPL CEO Hussain Shareef told the media that port operations at Thilafushi will begin on 27th October 2026.
According to Shareef, port operations at Thilafushi, same as operations at Male' Commercial Harbor, are set to begin this soon in order to solve the delay in loading and unloading cargo and the difficulties that come with delay.
Shareef went on to say that due to the current state of the Male' Commercial Harbor, there are obstacles in loading and offloading goods because of a lack of adequate resources.
"So in order to ease these issues, we hope to start operations at Thilafushi on 27th October 2026 alongside Male'," said Shareef.
As per the CEO, there will be a two-fold increase to the speed in opening the Thilafushi port by November 2027 in the coming days.
Shareef said yesterday that President Muizzu visiting Thilafushi served as a great source of encouragement in speeding up their efforts.
While speaking to the media yesterday at Thilafushi, the President said the relocation of the Male' Commercial Harbor to Thilafushi is currently the most important project for Maldives' economic growth, increasing productivity and supporting business development.
According to the President, the first phase of the relocation will finish and open on 11th November 2027, and that it will be four times larger than the Male' Commercial Harbor.
President Muizzu previously gave his assurance that the Male' Commercial Harbor will be operational at Thilafushi as a port with complete resources by November 2027 under the government's efforts as a top priority.
Additional information regarding port relocation to Thilafushi
- The first 100 meters of the inner harbor quay wall has been completed. Ground leveling and road construction work is ongoing, with around 40 percent of the inner quay wall backfilling being completed.
- Precast concrete blocks for the quay wall are being produced on-site, with the necessary machinery and resources having been procured, along with contractor selection efforts for the terminal building currently underway.
- The government has stated that when the 60-hectare harbor at Thilafushi opens, it will have the space to accommodate 390,000 TEU containers annually. The government also said that when the project is fully completed, this statistic will increase to 1.8 million TEU containers.
- The harbor will open with a quay wall that has a length of 375 meters and a depth of 14.6 meters, designed for international container vessels. There will be enough space to extend the quay wall to 1.4 kilometers.
- A quay wall spanning more than 2 kilometers for domestic vessels will also be constructed at the harbor./With the construction of the 375 meter quay wall for international container vessels, MPL estimated it will reduce goods embarkation and disembarkation to a two-day "turn around time".
- Once the harbor opens, it will be equipped with two ship-to-shore (STS) quay cranes and one mobile harbor crane.
MPL stated that currently, the loading and offloading of goods from vessels at the Male' Commercial Harbor takes 7 to 14 days. Once the harbor opens, it will be equipped with two ship-to-shore (STS) quay cranes and one mobile harbor crane.
On 20th July 2026, the government awarded the development of international and domestic quay walls to China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) under the port relocation project.
Some of the project efforts were awarded to MTCC on 1st June 2026, which is the construction of a 100-meter quay wall and paving a 3-hectare area.
