The Ministry of Construction and Infrastructure has said that 33 percent of the Thilamale' Bridge has been completed.

Senior officials of the Ministry of Infrastructure visited the site to inspect the Thilamale' bridge project launched by the previous government to connect Male', Villimale', Thilafushi and Gulhifalhu.

State Minister Ibrahim Thoaam, who visited the area, said in a post on X that 54.4 percent of the piling work of the Thilamale' bridge project had been completed.

"A total of 33.4 percent of the entire project has been completed. Work on the project is now 1.2 per cent ahead of schedule. The ministry is reviewing the challenges that may arise while the project is underway and taking necessary steps to ensure that the work is carried out without any delay," he said.

Speaking at a press conference in November, Infrastructure Minister Dr. Abdulla Muttalib had said that the previous government had signed a supplementary agreement with AFCONS a day before the end of the term, under which the current date for completion of the Thilamale' bridge was September 30, 2026.

According to the Minister, the outgoing government had signed a supplementary agreement with AFCONS as per which the deadline for the bridge is 30 September 2026.

The minister further said that even if the completion period has increased, the funds for the project will not increase any further and contrary to the earlier estimate, the work is likely to proceed at a slow pace, but in order to expedite the work, it is important to carry out the work without cutting it off from the current schedule.

India's AFCONS signed the project with Maldives in August 2021. The project is being carried out on a USD 100 million grant from the Government of India and a line of credit of USD 400 million. The work on the project began in August 2022.

As per the design, the main sea bridges between the two islands of the causeway link with a 6.7-km-long bridge will have 140 km, including a marine viaduct for 1.45 km deep sea, 2.32 km of marine viaduct on the sea/shore, and a 2.96-km road at par with the ground.

Traffic lights will be installed at the intersection of Male' and Villimale' Bridges via solar power. The Gulagifalhu and Thilafushi bridges will have bus stations connected to the island.