President Dr Mohamed Muizzu walked from Malé to Vilimalé across the Thilamalé Bridge for the first time today while inspecting ongoing work on the bridge connecting the two islands.
Along with President Muizzu, Housing Minister Dr. Abdulla Muththalib, Indian High Commissioner to the Maldives Balasubramanian, and senior officials from Afcons, the company executing the bridge project, also participated in the event held today in connection with Engineers' Day.
The Thilamalé Bridge is currently the largest infrastructure development project underway in the Maldives. Under this project, Malé and Vilimalé have been connected, which will bring immense relief to the residents of Vilimalé.
The work of joining all pre-cast segments between Malé and Vilimalé on the bridge was fully completed last week.
Speaking to the media while on the bridge, President Muizzu stated that the success of connecting Malé and Vilimalé was achieved as a result of top-level discussions held between India and the Maldives.
He stated that he hopes the entire bridge project will be completed within the coming year, noting that this will be a major advancement for the entire Malé region as well.
"God willing, as this work progresses to completion, I hope that within the coming year or so, God willing, the work will be finished. God willing, that completion will become something that brings significant progress to the entire Greater Malé region," the President said.
The President expressed gratitude and acknowledged the support provided by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian government for the bridge project.
"....And so, at this juncture, I just wanted to express my thanks by highlighting the close relationship between the Maldives and India and express our deep gratitude to Prime Minister Modi and the High Commissioner for the support given by the Indian Government and the priority Prime Minister Modi and the government give to this matter," President Muizzu said.
Indian High Commissioner Balasubramanian stated that the bridge project is being carried out in very close cooperation with the Maldives. Noting that this is one of the largest infrastructure development projects carried out by India outside its borders, the High Commissioner expressed gratitude for the cooperation received from the Maldivian government toward successfully completing the project.
Speaking last week on state media PSM's "Nation Chat" podcast, the President stated that there is no doubt regarding the quality of the Thilamalé Bridge. He added that the hope is to fully complete the bridge work within the coming year or so.
The President stated that he had been closely observing the progress of this project, which was initiated during the previous MDP government to connect Malé, Vilimalé, Gulhifalhu, and Thilafushi via a 6.74-kilometer-long bridge system.
According to the President, he personally took the initiative to propose expediting the Thilamalé Bridge project during his first meeting with Indian Prime Minister Modi. President Muizzu and Prime Minister Modi first met during a special meeting held on the sidelines of the 28th COP Summit in Dubai in 2023.
Following that meeting, a high-level committee was established by both countries, which worked alongside the Maldives' Ministry of Infrastructure Development to undertake numerous measures to expedite the project, the President said.
The President stated that there is no question regarding the quality of the Thilamalé Bridge, and that its quality will be high.
The President noted that the quality of the Thilamalé Bridge is being overseen by Arup, one of the best companies in the world for such work, which also maintained the quality of the Sinamalé Bridge.
The Thilamalé Bridge, which is the largest infrastructure development project currently underway in the Malé region, is a USD 500 million (MVR 7.7 billion) project. It is funded through a USD 400 million loan under India's Exim Bank Line of Credit and $100 million provided as a grant assistance by the Indian government.
