Gov’t Revises Rasmalé Reclamation Project Model Amid Contractor Delays

The Minister of Construction and Infrastructure, Dr. Abdulla Muththalib, announced that the ‘Rasmalé’ reclamation project will undergo a new operational model after contractors failed to meet the agreed schedule.

https://x.com/muththo/status/1796135878240444858

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Awarded to Capital Marine and Investment (CMC), the project involved the reclamation of 70 hectares of land from the Malé area, 60 hectares from Fushidhiggaru, and 10 hectares from Hulhumalé over 99 years in lieu of monetary payments. Originally slated for completion within eight months following its award on 18th December 2023, the project has seen significant delays, with only two months remaining on the initial timeline.

The project’s progress has been further hampered by the rejection of its expenses in this year’s budget by the previous Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) majority-held parliament, preventing the Ministry from directly managing the project. Minister Muththalib explained, “Since the project didn’t proceed as planned, and it is not included in the budget, we must explore another financing model. Details will be shared soon.”

In a tweet following the press conference, the Minister revealed that the decision to discontinue the project with CMC stemmed from a desire to arrange financing for the project rather than exchanging land.

During the briefing, Minister Muththalib also discussed the first 15,000 housing units under the Rasmalé project, awarded to a Chinese company. He assured that these units would be constructed swiftly and to a high standard, with materials produced domestically in a new factory on the first reclaimed land.

While the government seeks new pathways to restart the project, critics have raised concerns about the initial awarding process to CMC, particularly the compensation through large land portions. These concerns have been escalated to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for investigation.