Kudakalhi channel closed for Hulhumal

Transport Authority has announced that travel via the Kudakalhi channel, between Farukolhufushi and Furanafushi, is prohibited, while the dredger is in operation for the second phase of the Hulhumalé reclamation project.

An official of the Transport Authority told Sun Online that the area would remain closed for vessels until the dredger completes its task and departs from the Maldives.

The announcement states that a half-mile radius from the north-west lagoon of Farukolhufushi has been designated for the dredger to transport sand, and that vessels are prohibited from entering Kudakalhi channel to avoid any danger to themselves or the dredger.

Housing Development Corporation (HDC) has said that the dredger employed in this project, the Leiv Eiriksson, is one of the largest dredgers in the world. The project is undertaken by a Belgian company.

Up to 240 hectares of land will be reclaimed to the north-east of the existing island. HDC has said that 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.

The reclamation and development of Hulhumalé is an initiative establish a new land mass required to meet the housing and industrial needs of the capital Malé. The first official settlement was inaugurated by former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom on 12 May 2004.