MTCC yesterday commenced land reclamation work to add 18 hectares to GDh. Faresmaathodaa to resolve the housing difficulties faced by the island.

Fares and Maathodaa were two separate islands in the 1990s. They were designated as a single island in the year 2007.

The land reclamation and coastal protection project of the island was contracted to MTCC for MVR 142.6 million in December last year.

President of the Faresmaathodaa Council, Mohamed Sobah, where a population of around one thousand people resides, told "Mihaaru News" that the work began yesterday evening after being contracted to MTCC.

According to Sobah, although land was previously reclaimed to combine the two separate islands, an area of approximately 15 hectares remained without being fully joined. He also mentioned that the area currently being reclaimed is the region lying between the two islands.

Reclaiming land in Faresmaathodaa and providing a solution to the housing difficulties faced by the island is a pledge of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu. He has stated that, as with other islands, the land in this island will be reclaimed in a manner that allows it to be utilized for economic purposes in addition to resolving housing shortages.

Under the Faresmaathodaa land reclamation project, work will be carried out to reclaim an 18-hectare area of land and construct a revetment along a 620-meter stretch.