Minister of Economic Development Transport & Trade Mohamed Saeed has stated public living expenses will be lowered and acquiring fresh food stuff will begin once the project to relocate the Male' Commercial Harbor to K. Thilafushi is completed.
He said this while speaking to the media during President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu's visit to Thilafushi yesterday to review the work being done to relocate operations at Male' Commercial Harbor to Thilafushi.
The government stated the first phase of the relocation will finish and open on 11th November 2027, and that the entire project is set to finish by November 2028. MPL CEO Hussain Shareef told the media that port operations at Thilafushi will begin on 28th October 2026 in order to solve the delay in loading and unloading cargo and the difficulties that come with delay.
While it currently takes 7 to 14 days to load and offload goods from vessels at the Male' Commercial Harbor, this can be attributed as one of the main reasons toward the high spike in the price of certain goods.
Minister Saeed said vessels will be offloaded within a day of the port opening.
"The main result of this will be the cost of living being significantly lowered for citizens living at home. Food stuff, vegetables and many other products will be freshly brought from vessels and offloaded immediately," said the minister.
"We will see the current goods that take seven days to be offloaded to the harbor be offloaded in a short amount of time, taken to Male' and stocked on shelves across shops. It will make it to dining tables while being fresh. This is truly what all-encompassing development is."
According to the minister, all these things are being achieved with great difficulties and in a short amount of time.
He said that Maldivian entrepreneurs will experience the greatest joy in the relocation of the port to Thilafushi.
Saeed went on to say that the offloading of goods brought to Maldives are issues that have been inherited but President Muizzu wished to solve that matter since the first day he took office.
"This is not a project that can be built floor by floor. Nevertheless, this vertical project in reality has seen major progress," said the minister.
He highlighted that once the entire project is finished, the atoll stores and storage warehouses in the Male' market will be moved to Thilafushi, with the establishment of free zones.
"Once the bridge connects to Male', arrangements will be made to bring inbound cargo to Male', arrangements will be made where inbound cargo from Hulhumale' will be brought, along with sea-to-air cargo from the airport, which will serve as a logistical solution," said the minister.
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.
President Muizzu said yesterday the Thilafushi port will be four times larger than the Male' Commercial Harbor and that it is currently the largest economic project in Maldives.
