Prez: New dredger three times bigger than Mahaa Jarraafu will arrive this year

A dredger three times larger than the Mahaa Jarraafu is expected to be delivered to the Maldives before the end of this year, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu said on Saturday.

Speaking on the Nation Chat podcast broadcast by state media PSM, the President said MTCC has agreed with the government to implement several major projects, including dredging, canalization and coastal development. He said the government is now working to significantly increase MTCC’s dredging capacity by procuring another large-scale dredger.

“A Jarraafu three times the size of the Jarraafu that is currently at MTCC has hopefully been secured, and we hope to bring it to Maldives by the end of this year,” he said.

The President said this will be a new Jarraafu, not a replacement, and that its arrival will accelerate dredging projects that have not yet begun, while also speeding up MTCC’s ongoing reclamation and coastal works.

MTCC currently operates one trailing suction hopper dredger (Mahaa Jarraafu) and five cutter suction dredgers. The company says it has a total dredging capacity of 38,000 cubic meters per day, a figure expected to rise sharply once the new vessel is added to its fleet.