Hiyaa Park, Beach Boulevard unrealised 2 months post-agreement

More than two months after the Hiyaa Park project and Hulhumale Beach Boulevard project were awarded, work is yet to begin. The Road Development Corporation (RDC), the contractor for these projects, said the work will begin soon.

On 25 September HDC handed over the development of a 'Beach Boulevard', in addition to a park in the Hiyaa Flats area in Hulhumale' Phase II. It has been more than two months since then and work on both the projects is yet to take off.

Talking about the project, an RDC spokesperson told Atoll Times that preparations are underway to start work on the Hiyaa Park.

He said work on the project will begin next week. He said the beach boulevard would also be commissioned soon, but did not specify the exact date.

The official, however, said the work on the project will go ahead as per schedule.

Hdc did not respond to requests for comment on the projects.

As part of the development of Hiyaa Park in Hiyaa Flat area:

Earlier this year, HDC had conducted a programme to seek public opinion on the design of the Hiyaa Park.

The beach boulevard's work includes:

The boulevard is being developed on the eastern side of Hulhumale Phase I.

Termed as an important project by HDC, the project is planned to be completed within a year. The company, however, did not disclose the details of the cost incurred on the project.

Various projects awarded to RDC have been delayed due to various reasons. These include the Male road construction project and the Ameenee Magu streetscaping project, which began in September.

The road construction project was handed over to RDC under the leadership of former Mayor Shifa Mohamed. Under the MVR 462 million project, 15 roads in Male have been budgeted for paving and development.

Muizzu, however, said the planning ministry had withheld the budget for the project after the council was changed and the party's majority council was elected. While Muizzu said otherwise, the Ameenee Magu project, which was part of the project, was handed back to the RDC. The RDC was given the contract to develop Ameenee Magu at more than double the cost fixed earlier.

As the construction of Ameenee Magu started drawing criticism from various sources, the RDC hit back saying that the work was put on hold after the Planning Ministry requested it to, as it did not have the resources to upgrade the services provided them by the MWSC.

If the work is completed as per schedule, it will have to be completed by February with paving work completed on Ameenee Magu. The Ameenee Magu project, just like the Hiyaa Park and Beach Boulevard project that has been announced to begin now, began two months after it was handed over.