The government has announced plans to reclaim the southwestern harbour of Malé to build a waste management center and to relocate warehouses.
Housing Minister Dr Mohamed Muizzu said last night that the reclaimed area would be used to ease the transport of waste from Malé to the industrial Thilafushi Island. Barges carrying waste would be able to dock directly at the new center, he said.
The southwest harbor reclamation is the latest in a host of major construction projects planned by the government for the capital city, home to nearly a third of the Maldives 350,000 strong population.
Warehouses scattered throughout the city will be relocated to the area, Muizzu said. Heavy vehicles and construction materials will be housed at the area.
Muizzu said the relocation of warehouses to a specific zone would ease the problem of traffic jams and medical problems caused to people living near warehouses.
The government has not yet provided details of the cost of the project or when it will begin.
The plans were announced at a ceremony held in Malé last night to inaugurate a project to construct roads in northern Shaviyani Atoll Fonadhoo Island.
President Abdulla Yameen’s administration is also planning to construct a second artificial beach on the western side.
The environment protection agency has warned the new artificial beach may damage the reef and pollute the water.
On the eastern edge, a bridge connecting Malé to the airport island is expected to be completed by 2017. A monument to mark the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami is to be relocated to the second artificial beach.
Antennas located on Adi Park, on the east, are to be transferred to Thilafushi for US$3million.
Meanwhile, a new presidential jetty was inaugurated in July and ad-hoc changes to traffic were brought in July with the pedestrianization of the area around the Islamic Center.
The opposition has criticised the government for what they say are ad-hoc changes to the capital city. Yameen has stripped the elected city council of its powers and transferred its functions to the housing ministry.
