Fushidhiggaru first phase covers 29 hectares: EIA report

The reclamation of Fushidhiggaru lagoon for the Ras Male project began on Monday and it has been revealed that only 29 hectares of land has been handed over for reclamation so far.

The dredging of the Fushidhiggaru lagoon near Gulhi, about 17 minutes from Male, started on Monday.

Inaugurating the project on a barge in the lagoon, President Mohamed Muizzu said 1,153 hectares of land will be dredged. It will be three times the size of Hulhumale, he said.

“If we don't stop as we are starting today, we will be able to dredge this area in eight months,” he said.

Despite the president's statement, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the project has been conducted to dredge an area of 29 hectares for now.

According to the EIA report:

According to the EIA report, the remaining 97% of the dredging will be carried out in phases. Therefore, an EIA will be conducted separately for each section, the report said. However, the government has not given any information about it.

A project can only be carried out after an EIA is prepared and approved. Therefore, 97% of the work has not been officially awarded so far.

The Ras Male city is the largest project to be implemented by the government to ensure housing for the people. This is also the largest land reclamation project in Maldives.

The project:

During the government of former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, several dredging projects were also awarded to CMC.

The cost of the dredging project has not been announced by any government agency. The cost of dredging Site J of the project is not mentioned in the EIA.

Environmentalists and some members of the public are expressing concern about the dredging process. After dividing such a large project into parts, the project was inaugurated in a way that was deliberately misleading for the people.