President urges people to migrate from small islands to Hulhumal

President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom has urged people living in islands with small populations across the country, to move to Hulhumalé.

The President made this remark while speaking at a ceremony at Raalhugandu on Thursday evening, to inaugurate the second phase of the Hulhumalé Development Project.

He promised better living conditions and opportunities in Hulhumalé for youth and urged them to prepare to move to the ‘youth city’.

The future was bleak for small islands, said the President, as there was not much the government could do for the development of islands with populations of less than 400 people.

He urged youth in small islands to take the initiative to migrate to Hulhumalé, and assured them new job opportunities in this area. He said that Hulhumalé would also cater for the elderly, with mosques and religious activities.

The President further said that by the end of the second phase, Hulhumalé would have a population of about 220,000, and efforts are ongoing to establish policies to improve transport conditions between Malé and Hulhumalé. To that effect, he said that the Malé-Hulhulé bridge project would commence this year.

The region is estimated to have a population of about 400,000 once Malé and Hulhumalé are merged through a transport network, said the President.