The agreement made with the Road Development Corporation (RDC) has been terminated, and the project to develop the Addu Link Road was awarded to a Chinese company today.
The agreement with the state-owned company to establish connected islands, roads, and a drainage system in Addu was signed on April 8, 2025.
Although President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu practically initiated the project during his visit to Addu last November, no further work has been carried out during this period. Consequently, that agreement was canceled.
During a ceremony held at the Ministry of Infrastructure, Minister Dr. Abdulla Muththalib and the Managing Director of China's Rotime Engineering and Technology Company, Xu Weidong, signed the agreement for the reconstruction of the link road.
The ministry stated that under the agreement, the link road will be expanded to four lanes from the detour bridge to the Hithadhoo Stadium, developing 12.3 kilometers of the road.
However, the cost at which the project was awarded and the duration within which the project must be completed have not yet been clarified.
The project was previously awarded to RDC for MVR 829.8 million to be completed within three years and nine months.
The work to construct the 16-kilometer Addu Link Road connecting Hithadhoo, Maradhoo, Maradhoo-Feydhoo, Feydhoo, and Gan was initiated during former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's administration in 2001. That work was completed, and the road began to be used in 2003.
The Addu Link Road was constructed back then under a USD 7.9 million loan taken by the Maldivian government from the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The work on the total 12.5-kilometer link road was carried out by Høgaard & Schultz AS – Lebanon, a joint venture between Danish and Lebanese companies. The link road was planned and designed by New Zealand expert John Smart.
However, because this long road, which provided great convenience to the residents of Addu, has not been properly maintained, it is now severely damaged.
