Barge wrecks at Fuvahmulah coastal protection project site

A barge has run aground on the reef of Fuvahmulah City, at the site of a project to build coastal protection structures.

Fuvahmulah city council spokesperson Ibrahim Aleef told Sun on Saturday that the incident took place on Friday.

Aleef said the barge had been carrying boulder rocks to the project site when the incident took place.

According to Aleef, the barge had tipped over near the makeshift jetty used by the project’s contractor to bring in material for the project.

Work on refloating the barge is underway.

The Denmark company MT Hojgaard was contracted to build coastal protection structures in Fuvahmulah City in December 2021, in a project aimed at solving the years-long problem of beach erosion in the populous city.

The project, estimated to cost MVR 300 million, is financed with a grant from Netherlands, a loan from the Kuwait Fund for Urban Economic Development, and from the state budget.

The project will see the construction of a2.6-kilometer seawall in eastern Fuvahmulah, starting from the north of the city’s harbor.

It is set to be the largest seawall to be built in Maldives so far.