President Mohamed Muizzu has revealed that Former President Abdullah Yameen tried to cancel the opening of the Sinamalé Bridge since there was no special lane for cycles.

In an interview with SanguTV tonight, the President said that Yameen ordered the construction of a cycle lane on the bridge a month before the bridge was completed. The President, who was the Housing Minister back then told Yameen that a special lane for cycles could not be designated in such a short period of time. Yameen then wanted to designate the bicycle lane or the pedestrian lane as a cycle lane, President Muizzu revealed.

However, the President added that there was not enough space for a cycle lane in the pedestrian lane.

The President recalled a meeting following this at the party office with 40 or so members including Ministers and MPs with Yameen, where he stated that the bridge could not be opened since there was no separate lane for cycles. As such, he had noted that he wanted a physically barriered cycle lane to avoid accidents.

"When the President returned to his residence, I called him again. I asked him to reconsider the decision as there was only a week left for the opening. I explained that if the bridge is not opened, it will affect relations between the two countries. I tried to make him understand that all possibilities to cater to his request had been made even though it came in the last minute, which is why we were not able to do so. He then agreed and instructed to proceed with everything as is," President Muizzu stated.

The President said that after further discussions with Yameen, he agreed to open the bridge. Yameen instructed to install speed brakes on the bridge and it has been done accordingly, he said.

The President said the Housing Ministry was included in the bridge project in October or Decemberof 2014. In a letter sent to the Foreign Ministry on September 25, 2014, the President's Office asked for clarification on the implementation agency and the execution agency.

President Muizzu revealed that after the letter, the Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure had been handed over the task of implementing the bridge project. He noted that he had never participated in the bridge project before.

"I'm aware of everything that happened in the project after this date. If there are any changes in the project after this date, I will know very clearly. The preliminary design stage, pre-feasibility stage, feasibility stage, concept design and detail design stages were carried out after that. There were only two lanes each side of the bridge, no change to that was made after I took over.

He said the widening of the lane for heavy vehicles increased the width of the bridge by one meter. It was at the request of the China Communication Construction Company (CCCC), which was working on the bridge. The original width of the bridge was 20 meters but the total width of the bridge was changed to 21 meters due to the widening of the heavy vehicle lane.