Bridge pact revised on ex-govt's last day; September 2026 as new deadline
Mutthalib said the work was 52% slow compared to the schedule.
The previous government has amended the contract for the Greater Male Connectivity Bridge on its last day in office and extended the completion date of the project until September 2026, the new government's infrastructure minister Dr Abdullah Mutthalib said on Thursday.
Speaking at a press conference at Dharubaaruge, Mutthalib said the then government had signed an amendment to the bridge agreement with India's Afcons on November 16, a day before President Dr Mohamed Muizzu took over the government. According to the signed amendments, the company has been given an extension of the deadline for completion of the bridge.
“The supplementary agreement signed between Afcons and the Maldivians government on that day was to complete the work by September 30, 2026,” Mutthalib said.
"The supplementary agreement does not require any additional payment to the contractor. The project is worth $500 million excluding GST."
Bridge work schedule as per the original agreement:
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Completion of the Male-Villimale section - July 2023 or August 2023 by latest
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Completion of the Villimale-Gulhifalhu section - by December 2023
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Completion of the entire bridge connecting Male all the way to Thilafushi via Villimale and Gulhi - by November 2024
Mutthalib explained the agreed dates for completion of the works under the revised agreement. He said:
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Completion of the Male-Villimale section - by December 2025; The minister said this was not the date in the agreement but it was agreed verbally
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Completion of the Villimale-Gulhifalhu section - by June 30, 2025
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Completion of the entire bridge connecting Male all the way to Thilafushi via Villimale and Gulhi - by September 2026
“With the supplementary agreement, a work that was previously scheduled to be completed in 820 days has now been agreed to be completed in 1,658 days," Mutthalib said.
"1.13% of the work should have been completed from Gulhifalhu to Thilafushi. If we look at the whole project, 81% of the work should have been completed. However, 29% of the work has been completed by November 15."
Mutthalib said the work was 52% slow compared to the schedule.
"At first the work started as fast as it should have. Later the work was very slow," he said.
Regarding the delay, Mutthalib said the contractor was sure that the work would not be completed within the deadline and one of the reasons was the delay on the part of the government to hand over some lands.
"The amount of penalty that the contractor is liable for the delay in the work is also a large amount. The two sides had negotiated and signed a supplementary agreement on November 16, 2023," Mutthalib said.
