Although 77 percent works should have been concluded in Thilamale' Bridge development project, only 27 percent of works have been completed according to the newly inaugurated government.
President's Office Under-Secretary for Public Policy Mohamed Firzul Abdulla Khaleel said that the reports compiled by transitional committee showed that only 27 percent of works have been completed in the bridge project, and added it warranted investigation into the significant delay.
"The foremost thing we need to do is assess the progress and condition of the work, and identify the hindrances, to understand what challenges have posed against the progress of the project," Firzul said about the largest infrastructure project carried out by the previous administration.
Firzul said the investigation into the bridge project's delay has been included in the "Week-14" agenda of the list of objectives the current government aims to achieve within the first 100 days. He noted that other particulars about the project can be formulated into a roadmap after the initial assessment.
The project requires USD 500 million (MVR 7.7 billion), which was extended by the Indian government, comprising of USD 400 million line of credit through India's EXIM Bank with an additional USD 100 million grant.
The outgoing government acquired another USD 100 million line of credit from the EXIM Bank to expedite the project.
A total of USD 109 million has been spent for the bridge project contracted to India's Afcons Infrastructure.
During his presidential campaign, Dr. Mohamed Muizzu highlighted and criticized that the infrastructure project did not show any visible progress.
The previous government earlier said that the bridge structure will connect Male' with Vilimale' by August 2023. However, Afcons Infrastructure later said that the work had been hindered since the planned works underwater between the channel could not be completed within the timeline owing to the frequent changes in the ocean currents.
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