With the land reclamation for Maldives main airport’s new runway set to kick off next month, Maldives Airports Company (MACL) has commenced the development of a new reef channel marine vessels at the airport island of Hulhule.
MACL is currently preparing for the land reclamation phase of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA)’s new runway project, which will commence next Monday.
The company’s managing director Adil Moosa revealed Monday that excavation of the new reef channel for marine vessels and ferries that arrive and depart from Hulhule will be completed by next Thursday.
“The new reef channel won’t affect ferry routes much,” he assured, explaining that the old channel is being closed off for the safety of travellers as it is adjacent to the location to be reclaimed.
The new runway’s contractor, Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG) of China, has already brought over a dredger for reclamation, with another on the way.
“We assume that the reclamation phase will be completed within five months and that the whole project will be over in 2018,” said Adil.
The project with an approximate expense of USD 373 million will see the development of a second runway in INIA measuring 3,400 metres in length and 60 metres in breadth. The project also includes development of a new cargo terminal with 120,000 tonne capacity and a fuel farm with storage of 45 million litres.
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