Delay in Thilafushi-Male’ bridge attributed to long holiday

Planning Ministry states the delay in launch of work on the bridge to link Male’ City with the industrial island of Thilafushi is due to the recent long holiday.

Though India’s Afcons Infrastructure Limited has been selected as the contractor, construction work has yet to begin.

When questioned by Sun regarding the delay in the project on Sunday morning, an official from Planning Ministry said the delay in construction work is due to the recent long holiday, and that other work related to the project remains in progress.

Planning Ministry states it is unable to provide an exact date on which the contract will be signed.

“We are engaged in discussions with the selected party. We will know the date for the signing once the discussions are over,” said an official from Planning Ministry.

The government previously attributed the delay in the project to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking to Sun back in June, Economic Minister Fayyaz Ismail said the government expected to sign the contract within two weeks.

However, more than a month has passed since then.

Economic Ministry was not immediately available for comment regarding the delay in the project.