President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has said some services offered at the Male’ Commercial Harbour will be available from the Male’ Industrial Village once the Commercial Harbour is relocated to Thilafushi.
The Male’ Commercial Harbour is expected to be fully relocated to Thilafushi and operational by 11 November next year.
Speaking on PSM’s Nation Chat podcast, the President said the port relocation is key to boost the Maldives’ economy. He said the project is progressing on schedule, and expressed confidence that the Commercial Harbour will be relocated to Thilafushi within the expected timeline.
The President said the relocation would effectively address current space constraints and facilitate more efficient loading and unloading of goods. He said most port operations, around 80 percent, will move to Thilafushi, while some services will be based in the Industrial Village near the Thilamale’ Bridge and connected to the T-Jetty.
The President said all current services at the existing commercial harbour will eventually be fully transferred to Thilafushi and the Industrial Village. He said the new setup will allow port operations to continue even if the Thilamale’ Bridge is unavailable, with roll-on/roll-off ferry services ensuring that freight transport is routed away from residential areas. Private businesses will also be allocated space in the Industrial Village and Thilafushi.
President Muizzu also highlighted that the new port would be underpinned by a fully digitalised port operations management system, helping achieve increased efficiency and reduce processing times. He said this would help reduce the prices of goods and expand the economy.
The relocation of the Male’ Commercial Harbour and the development of a quay wall have been contracted to China Harbour Engineering Company and Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC). The Thilafushi harbour area is ten times larger than the existing harbour area, while the new quay wall being developed in Thilafushi would be three times longer than the existing quay wall at the Male’ Commercial Harbour.