45.8 percent of Thilamale’ Bridge complete but delays in crucial works

Construction Minister Dr. Abdulla Muthalib states 45.82 percent of Thilmale’ Bridge has been completed.

The Minister shared the latest updates regarding the project during a press conference held at the President’s Office on Monday. In this regard:

• Piling works of pillars – 79.5 percent complete
• Precast segment – 43.5 percent
• Pile cap – 67.8 percent
• Pier complex – 62.2 percent

In November of last year, Minister Muthalib said works on the bridge were far behind schedule as the contractor, India’s Afcons Infrastructure Limited, lacked the experience in constructing a bridge in deep sea and underestimated the workload that would be incurred with the project as a result of which they were inadequately prepared.

Henceforth, a supplementary agreement was executed which extended the deadline to complete the project by an additional 30 months. As per the Minister, the supplementary agreement was executed at the request of the company, as they had sought without any changes from the Maldivian government’s side.

Speaking at Monday’s press conference, Minister Muthalib revealed Afcons was yet again making various excuses to delay the work. On this note, he highlighted delays in crucial works citing weather hindrances such as rough seas.

“Although there isn’t a huge delay, we note that some critical works are not proceeding at the speed we want. Particularly, deep sea piling works are not proceeding in the speed we want,” he stressed.

Minister Muthalib said the contractor has been informed their excuses are not acceptable to the government, adding no further extension will be granted to complete the project.

In this regard, the Minister detailed that meetings were being held with the contractor to share the government’s concern while still expressing hope to see the completion of the project in line with the schedule. 

Thilamale’ Bridge project, linking Male’, Vilimale’, Thilafushi and Gulhifalhu, is one of the biggest projects initiated by the former administration. It is financed under an Indian grant of USD 100 million and a USD 400 concessional credit line from India’s Exim Bank.  The project was awarded to India’s Afcons Infrastructure in August 2021.

The former administration was highly criticized for the slow progress of the project. Only 29 percent of the project had been completed when the new administration of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu assumed office in November last year.