The agreement has been signed for the largest collaborative project by India and the Maldives, the Thilamale' Bridge Project.

At a special ceremony held at Hotel Jen today, the agreement was signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, Zeeniya Hameed, on behalf of the Maldives and the Director of Afcons Infrastructure, the Indian contractor for the project.

Funded by USD 100 million in free aid and USD 400 million from Line of Credit , this project will be marked as the largest project in the country so far.

Indian High Commission in Maldives today said that the project was proposed by to the Indian Minister for External Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar by the the Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and Foreign Minister, Abdulla Shahid during their visit to India in 2019.

The High Commission said that project will become the main engine of the Maldivian economy once it connects the Thilafushi Industrial Zone and Male' with the international port being developed in Thilafushi.

The full report of the project was developed by Hong Kong's infrastructure consultant farm, Arup LTD.

Following his visit to India in 2019, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih announced a USD 1.4 billion economic package including a Line of Credit of USD 800 million for airport development, harbor projects, island development, fish factories and farming.