Housing Development Corporation (HDC) announced Sunday that development of the link road to connect the airport island of Hulhule and reclaimed suburb Hulhumale will commence next month.
Development of the four-kilometre long Hulhule-Hulhumale link road, which is connected to the landmark overwater bridge currently being developed between Hulhule and capital Male, is awarded to Hunan Construction Engineering Group of China for USD 24 million (MVR 370 million).
HDC’s Managing Director Mohamed Saiman stated that conduction of surveys and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) prior to construction have been completed. While the equipment and materials for the project are currently being brought in, MD Saiman assured that the link road will be completed in time for the bridge unveiling.
The link road is to be developed at the same width as the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge with four lanes. The project also necessitates reclaiming a part of Hulhule’s lagoon with some areas of the reclaimed land to have coastal reinforcement and sheet piling. The project also includes laying a water pipe network and pavement of the road.
HDC had said in a statement released last February that the contractor is to bear all the costs of the link road project, which will be reimbursed by the government on a later date.
The China-Maldives Friendship Bridge spans from the southeast coast of Male to the southern end of Hulhule beyond the airport runway strip. The current causeway linking Hulhule and Hulhumale runs from Hulhule’s southern end to the eastern coast of Hulhumale. The new project will expand the current causeway and reinforce the new highway.
The China-Maldives Friendship Bridge and the link road are major development projects undertaken by the government to connect the capital, airport and suburb with land transportation. Currently, people of the greater Male region travel between the three islands via ferries.
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