President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has stated that the RasMalé project will be completed by the end of this year as planned by the government.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the PNC House last night, the President said the dredging work would start again next month. The work is expected to be completed by December this year, he said.

“Our goal is to dredge 1,100 hectares of land by the end of December this year, as planned in the beginning,” he said.

The President said that besides RasMalé, the dredging work of Giraavarufalhu, Gulhifalhu and Hulhumalé Phase 3 will also be carried out.

The Construction and Infrastructure Ministry held a press conference last May, where Minister Abdullah Muthalib said the government has not been able to carry out the RasMalé dredging project as planned so far.

The minister said the CMCC was awarded the dredging of RasMalé without any burden on the state and the company had submitted a very good offer. However, the company has not been able to raise funds for the project.

The minister said the government is now looking at other ways to carry out the RasMalé project.

The minister said the biggest challenge in the RasMalé project is that the budget of MVR 400 million has been cut. Therefore, the project cannot be carried out directly under the ministry, he said.

The President inaugurated the RasMalé dredging work on December 18 last year to solve the housing crisis faced by the people of the Maldives.

President Muizzu has earlier said that 65,000 housing units including land and flats will be developed there under the RasMalé development project.