President, First Lady tours Fuvahmulah road development project site

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and First Lady Fazna Ahmed on Saturday toured the worksite of Fuvahmulah City's road development project, undertaken by Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC).

The state-owned enterprise would be overseeing the construction of the roads with adequate stormwater drainage systems, along with street lamps to fully complete the new roads.

The First Coupe also visited the Fuvahmulah City Hospital where renovation work was ongoing in the laboratory services area.

President @ibusolih and First Lady Fazna Ahmed tour the work site of Fuvahmulah City’s road development project undertaken by MTCC and observe the progress of their work. pic.twitter.com/Borb6iTWMK

— The President's Office (@presidencymv) March 26, 2022

Prior to the tour, President Solih and Vice President Faisal Naseem had a meeting with members of the Fuvahmulah City Council and Women’s Development Committee (WDC) members.

The meeting held at Fuvahmulah City Council Secretariat centred around extensive discussions regarding the city's socioeconomic progress and tactics for development on upcoming projects.

In the meeting, councillors stated that the government had addressed most of the issues raised in the last meeting with the President and expressed gratitude for the prompt response. Moreover, they also conveyed the needs and concerns of the citizens and discussed measures to expedite ongoing and planned socio-economic development initiatives.

They requested the President to facilitate a way for the council to obtain the funding required to carry out necessary actions while the new roads were being constructed and also sought a mechanism to include the councils' input in the final design of the housing units to be developed in the city.

Furthermore, they discussed the city's societal issues and requested assistance in obtaining the funds needed to complete the city master plan. Members of the WDC deliberated the requirements for development in their city which included improving healthcare services.

The Vice President, who is from Fuvahmulah concurred with the WDC and the councillors and spoke of the significance of upgrading healthcare services and expediting the road development project.

Speaking at the meeting, the President assured that their input would be taken into account when the housing project is being finalised, along with their suggestions for road development. He also highlighted how a task force had been established to address the country's social problems and gave assurances that he would communicate with the relevant line ministries in an effort to address and find appropriate solutions to the issues that were raised.

Following the meeting, the President and First Lady visited the harbour and the coastal erosion site in Fuvahmulah.

The government is currently working on the coastal protection of the area via MT Højgaard Pvt. The project worth MVR 300 Million project includes the construction of 2,650 metres of coastline protection walls from the north Fuvahmulah harbour to the east of the island.

The President had announced that the harbour expansion project survey would be awarded to the previous contractors during the ‘Maahefun’ gathering hosted for the residents of the city on Friday night.

President @ibusolih and First Lady Fazna Ahmed meet the residents of Fuvahmulah City and host a traditional pre-Ramadan feast, "Maahefun". pic.twitter.com/q6wNUNIZxL

— The President's Office (@presidencymv) March 26, 2022

Projects announced by President Solih for Fuvahmulah

-     200 housing units

-     Second phase of road construction (will extend the road to 10km)

-     50-bed specialized hospital for women and children

-     Harbour survey work

-     Resolving issues raised by fishers

-     Develop swimming pool

Fuvahmulah City is the first stop on President Solih and First Lady Fazna's four-day trip to the Maldives' southernmost cities. In addition to the Vice President, they are accompanied by a delegation of cabinet ministers and senior officials from the government.