Talks with Indian govt. to expedite Thilamale' bridge: Min

Minister of Construction, Housing and Infrastructure Dr. Abdulla Muththalib has announced that as work on the Thilamale' bridge is moving at the government's desired pace, they are in talks with the contractor and the Indian government in order to expedite the project.

During the press conference held at the President's Office, Minister Muththalib stated that the bridge being built under the Indian government's Line of Credit (LoC) will not finish at the determined date at the pace it is progressing.

The project was awarded to India's Afcons Infrastructure Limited, with the project to end by September 2026.

"It will be difficult to see an end to the project at the predetermined date at the pace it is currently at. And so, we are looking into what can be done to expedite the process by speaking to the contractor and the Indian government," said Muththalib.

As per Muththalib, Afcons has stated that the 30-day extension to the project without any additional payments has proven difficult for them. He also said that due to this, the company is experiencing cash flow issues.

The minister said that even though the work has been delayed, revising the contract and awarding it to another company may cause more problems to crop up. This may cause issues such as contractor arbitration, project stoppage and more, said the minister.

"And so we are working to expedite the project by speaking to the contractor and the Indian government," said Muththalib.

Muththalib went on to say that 30 percent of the project had not been completed when the current government took office, with the project currently at 67 percent completion. He also said that all of the work that needs doing underwater has already been completed.

The Thilamale' bridge is a project worth USD 500 million (MVR 7.7 billion). This is split into MVR 400 million via an LoC from India's Exim Bank and USD 100 million as free aid from the Indian government.