Big picture of Thilamale Bridge: 12 pillars at once

The Greater Male Connectivity Bridge, which has been awarded to India's Afcons to connect Male, Villimale, Gulhifalhu and Thilafushi, has been overshadowed by various factors. There are doubts among the public about the speed and scale of the project, which is being undertaken on a USD 500 million (MVR 7.7 billion) loan from Exim Bank of India. There are those who question whether Afcons is capable of building bridges.

All these doubts and questions were answered by the government on Tuesday by taking journalists for the first time to the sites where the bridge is being constructed and showing them around. First of all, the work being carried out at the start of the bridge from Male end was shown.

Work is being carried out near the Villa petrol shed in the industrial area in the western part of the city where the bridge begins. Inside the premises, which has been cordoned off with tin roof panels around it, massive work is underway to install pillars that are about 1.5 metres in size.

Project Manager Mohamed Jinan said that a total of eight pillars will be installed on land from Male ends. The piling or foundation of these pillars has already been completed, he said. After the piling work, four concrete pillars were shown to the press. 

"The major work on the pillars that have to be installed on the ground from Male end is almost complete. We haven't been cut off from the schedule yet," Jinan said.

He said that along with the work on the pillars to be installed on the ground, work on the pillars to be installed in the sea and the deeper sea has also started. Showing the construction of the first pillar in the sea near Male, he said that a temporary platform will be installed in the sea to set it. 

Jinan said that the work of laying liners in the sea to pour concrete into the two pillars has been completed and the next step is to pour the concrete. The liner work is underway to start concrete work on the other pillar, he said. One of the pillars is very deep in the ocean. Therefore, work on the first pillar directly under the sea is currently in full swing. Barges and cranes can be seen operating between Male and Villimale while carrying out the work.

"A total of 12 pillars are being completed in full swing. After the piling work, the work will go on in full swing," Jinan said.

"A person watching from a distance may not be able to see work. But every day, these works, a lot of hard work are going on."

In segment A, which was initially scheduled to be completed on the Greater Male Connectivity Bridge, 50 pillars will be installed at different depths from Male to Villimale and Gulhifalhu. Jinan said that work has been initiated to reclaim the area related to the bridge from Villimale end.

By the time the pillars are completed, the Afcons site at Gulhifalhu is preparing strong concrete sheets that will be placed on top of the pillars of the bridge. The huge cranes and planks needed for the purpose have been arranged at the site. The work will begin in the next few weeks, he said. Once the sheets are prepared, they will be brought in and put on top of the pillars. Jinan said that the sheets to be placed on the pillars built on the ground from Male ends are being prepared at the Male site.

Two small sheets and 10 long sheets will be prepared for the first segment, he said. They are 2.5 to 4 metres in size, he said.

"As the work is going on as per schedule, we will be able to connect Villimale and complete it by December 2023. That assurance is still there," Jinan said.