Adeeb: New reclamation area will be billion dollar investments

Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb has said that the area to be reclaimed in the second phase of Hulhumale’ reclamation project will be an area where billion dollar investments will be carried out.

In an exclusive interview given by Tourism Minister to Sun Online during the trip to visit the dredger “Leiv Eiriksson” that has been brought to Maldives on Saturday by the dredging company of Belgium who has been assigned for the Second Phase of Hulhumale’ reclamation project, Minister said that government and Hulhumale’ Development Corporation (HDC) have decided to mobilize the reclaimed land for various investments and the investments will be over one billion USD.

Minister Adeeb said that while they have decided to provide housing facilities for people from that land, they have also planned to build luxury rooms, youth centers, financial centers and offshore financing centers. These investments would be carried out by government in association with private sectors, said Adeeb.

According to Adeeb, Hulhumalé reclamation project is now running on a cost that’s $ 22 million lower than the one previously proposed.

President would officially inaugurate the second phase of Hulhumalé reclamation project on 15 of January and land reclamation would be completed by the end of March 2015, said Minister Adeeb.

Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed, Fisheries Minister Dr. Mohamed Shainee, Attorney General Mohamed Anil and senior officials of HDC also visited the dredger on Sunday.

Up to 240 hectares of land will be reclaimed to the north-east of the existing island. The new land will engulf the nearby island of Farukolhufushi and the expanded area will be designed to support a population of 100,000 people, HDC said.

The 188 hectares reclaimed under phase one of the project, launched in 1997, was aimed at facilitating housing for 60,000 people.