Dutch company contracted to Addu land reclamation project

A Dutch company has been contracted for Addu City’s land reclamation project which is carried out with financial assistance from India.

The agreement pertaining to the project was signed during the ceremony held at Addu City this morning for the inauguration of ‘National College of Policing and Law Enforcement’.

It is Dutch company Van Oord, that was contracted to reclaim 194-hectares of land in Addu City.

Planning Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Zeeniya Ahmed Hameed signed the agreement on behalf of the Maldivian government. Van Oord’s Dredging Director Cornelius Adriand Dibreyn. signed the agreement on behalf of the company.

The project which is funded from a USD 800 million line of credit approved by the Indian government via India’s EXIM Bank – was contracted to be completed within 18 months. Apart from land reclamation works, coastal protection works will also be carried out as part of this project.

Under this project, 90-hectares of land will be reclaimed at Hithadhoo; 23.3-hectares of land will be reclaimed at Maradhoo/Maradhoofeydhoo and 76-hectares from an uninhabited island will be reclaimed for tourism purposes.

Many environmental activists have expressed concern over the reclamation project which they claim would significantly impact the environment.