Videos offering a rare glimpse into the behind the scenes work on the Thilamale’ Bridge have attracted millions of views on Facebook.
The clips, shared on the public Facebook page “Sarj S. Estrada”, have each garnered between 2.9 and 3.2 million views, with thousands of shares and comments.
Posted by Jessa James Estrada, a Filipino national, the videos document the daily lives of workers engaged in the landmark bridge project. Estrada, who describes himself as the captain of a landing craft operating on the project, has been sharing footage since May last year.
The videos show the demanding and often hazardous conditions faced by workers constructing the bridge linking Male', Vilimale', Gulhifalhu and Thilafushi. Heavy machinery, cranes and landing craft operating offshore are featured prominently, alongside close-up footage of deep-sea pillar construction.
In several clips, Filipino workers whom Estrada refers to as “elite riggers” describe working in extreme heat and rain, detailing the challenges of living and laboring at sea.
Unlike the polished promotional material usually associated with major infrastructure projects, the videos highlight the technical complexity and physical risks involved. One clip captures massive precast concrete segments being lifted and positioned onto towering pillars. Another shows large steel pipes driven deep into the seabed to reinforce the bridge’s foundations. Crane barges loading concrete in the open ocean also feature in the footage.
“Building a bridge in Maldives is not that easy,” Estrada says in one video, describing the dangers of working on elevated platforms surrounded by open water.
The project — officially known as the Greater Male Connectivity Project — is the largest infrastructure undertaking in the capital’s history. According to the Indian High Commission in the Maldives, the superstructure segments are the tallest precast sections of their kind ever constructed.
Precasting involves manufacturing bridge components off-site and transporting them for installation. During construction of the Sinamale Bridge, such segments were imported from China. For the Thilamale’ project, however, components are being produced locally before installation.
Backed by the Government of India, around 60% of the 6.7km bridge has now been completed. All underwater works have been finalised.
Valued at approximately USD 500 million (MVR 7.7 billion), the project is financed through a USD 400 million line of credit from the Export-Import Bank of India and USD 100 million in grant assistance from the Indian government.
Once completed, the structure will be roughly six times larger than the Sinamale’ Bridge, transforming connectivity across the Greater Male' region.
