Ministry of National Planning, Housing, and Infrastructure has stated infrastructure projects contracted under the design-and-build policy are completed faster.
Although some projects stall during fieldwork, the planning ministry stated the completion time for projects under the design-and-build policy are notably faster.
Most of the infrastructure projects in the Maldives are conducted under the mandate of the planning ministry. As such, the ministry has included numerous projects to be conducted this year under the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP), many of which were contracted under the design-and-build policy, which gives contractors the opportunity to design the projects themselves.
Director-General Fathimath Shaana said construction-only projects take longer in the agreement-signing phase and risk the government having to re-design the projects if changes at the worksites occur during that time. Shaana said design-and-build projects minimise the risk and are completed faster. The planning ministry continues to be involved in design-and-build projects after handing them over to contractors, in order to observe whether the work is being conducted according to the design standards set by the ministry, she also said.
Further, she noted that many projects that were delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions have resumed work at the sites and that over 50% of the work related to water supply and sewerage projects have been completed.