MTCC awarded Thulhaadhoo Airport reclamation project

The government has terminated the contract with the initial company awarded to build Baa atoll Thulhaadhoo Airport, as no progress has been made on the project. The work has now been handed over to the Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC), which began land reclamation today.

Construction Minister Dr Abdulla Muththalib officially inaugurated the reclamation work at a ceremony on the island.

The original contract was awarded in July 2023 by the previous administration under former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to Capital Marine and Construction Pvt Ltd. Despite a reclamation ceremony held in August, no actual work was carried out before the agreement was terminated.

Thulhaadhoo is among the islands designated by the Solih government in November 2022 for airport development, funded by a private company in exchange for an island reserved for resort development.

President Dr Mohamed Muizzu, during his presidential campaign visit to Thulhaadhoo in August, promised to complete the airport under his administration.

MTCC was awarded the new contract yesterday, valued at MVR 570.26 million. The land reclamation and beach protection work is expected to take 660 days.

According to the Ministry of Construction, the airport will feature an 1,800-metre-long, 30-metre-wide code 3C runway. The project includes dredging 55.4 hectares (approximately 2.23 million cubic metres of sand), installing 2,804 metres of rock revetment and 1,677 metres of geobag revetment.

The government aims to expand the domestic airport network to ensure that any residential island, resort or industrial area in the Maldives is within 30 minutes of a domestic airport.