Boskalis awarded MVR 2bn contract to reclaim Gulhifalhu

Maldives government on Monday awarded a USD 130.4 million (MVR 2 billion) contracted Boskalis to reclaim land for the second phase of Gulhifalhu.

This project concerns the second phase of the expansion of the island of Gulhifalhu for which Boskalis also executed the first phase in recent years.

The development of Gulhifalhu, which is located approximately 4km from the capital Male, is part of the government's strategic plan to improve and develop the port infrastructure, and will serve as a climate adaptive solution, making this part of the Maldives resilient to rising sea levels.

For the second phase of the island’s expansion, Boskalis will deploy a large trailing suction hopper dredger to reclaim new land using approximately eighteen million cubic meters of sand. Boskalis’ activities also include rock revetment work for shoreline protection.

"To manage the environmental impacts of the dredging and land reclamation activities, a comprehensive environmental impact assessment was conducted in accordance with the highest international standards," a statement issued by Boskalis read.

"To mitigate possible adverse effects, Boskalis is implementing various measures, including coral relocation and measures to limit the spreading of sediments in the water in combination with regular monitoring of the water quality."

Over the past two decades, Boskalis has successfully executed several climate-adaptive dredging and land reclamation projects in the Maldives, including reconstruction work on the islands of Vilufushi and Villingili following the devastating tsunami in late 2004 and the initial development of Gulhifalhu in 2010 and 2012.

In addition, Boskalis was responsible for the successful execution of the first phase of the expansion of Gulhifalhu in 2019 and 2020.