The government has entered into an agreement with China-based China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) to develop roads and municipal infrastructure services in Gulhifalhu. The signing ceremony, held at the President’s Office on Monday, marks a significant milestone in President Dr Mohamed Muizzu’s efforts to alleviate congestion in the capital city, Malé.
The agreement encompasses the construction of essential infrastructure, including roads, municipal services such as electricity, water supply, sewerage networks, a dewatering system, a Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) duct system, and a gas storage and distribution centre. Minister of Construction, Housing and Infrastructure Dr Abdulla Muththalib and CMEC Regional General Manager Qian Haojun signed the agreement. President Dr Mohamed Muizzu and Vice President Hussain Mohamed Latheef were also in attendance.
Speaking at the event, Minister Muththalib highlighted the critical importance of the project, noting that the Gulhifalhu initiative is a key component of President Dr Muizzu’s strategy to reduce congestion in Malé. The agreement with CMEC resulted from extensive discussions and a Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Chinese government during President Dr Muizzu’s visit to China earlier in 2023, he added.
Minister Muththalib also highlighted that the ministry engaged in technical-level discussions with CMEC prior to finalising the agreement. Following the signing, CMEC will initiate the necessary surveys and detailed design drawings for the project, he said.
"Project scoping, preparing technical specifications, and concept-level designs are being drawn up. Once this was done, we evaluated and discussed the proposal by CMEC to carry out the project on a contractor finance basis before we came up with the agreement," he said.
CMEC’s Regional General Manager Qian highlighted the company’s extensive involvement in the Maldives over the past 14 years, during which it has undertaken numerous projects. In 2024, according to him, CMEC successfully completed several significant projects in the country, including housing infrastructure development, road construction, and energy-related initiatives. An agreement to develop a tourism complex in Addu City had also been signed, he added.
Although the project to develop trunk infrastructure was signed with CMEC, a portion of the land in Gulhifalhu is currently being utilised for the Malé-Thilafushi bridge development project. Minister Muththalib noted that, despite the ongoing bridge development, the agreement with CMEC would facilitate the development of the trunk infrastructure.
Gulhifalhu is intended for the development of residential land and properties. The government has already distributed deeds for 3,520 land plots of various sizes. President Dr Muizzu’s administration has also revised the land-use plan, allocating 21% of the area for parks and green spaces.
The plan ensures that all proposed schools are within a 10-minute walking distance of residential properties, while mosques are within a five-minute walking distance. The plan includes parking spaces for over 70,000 vehicles.
CMEC was previously contracted for the municipal and trunk infrastructure works of President Dr Muizzu’s Ras Malé project, a flagship housing initiative of the administration. CMEC, a core subsidiary of China National Machinery Industry Corporation (Sinomach), is among the world’s top 500 companies. Founded in 1978, it is China’s first engineering and trade company.