After years of construction and repeated delays, Malé and Villimalé are set to be physically connected by bridge today, marking a major milestone in the long-awaited Thilamalé Bridge project.
Afcons Infrastructure, the Indian company responsible for constructing the project, is scheduled to hold a ceremony at 11:00am today to mark the installation of the final segment of the bridge between Malé and Villimalé.
The placement of this final segment will complete the superstructure of the Malé–Villimalé section, effectively joining the two islands through the main structural framework of the bridge.
The milestone, however, does not mean that the bridge will immediately open to the public.
According to Afcons, a number of works will remain after the final structural connection, including finishing works, the installation of safety barriers and railings, lighting, as well as other technical and administrative requirements. Public access will only be permitted once these works have been completed and the necessary arrangements have been finalized.
A project years in the making
The Thilamalé Bridge project was initiated under the administration of former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and awarded to Afcons Infrastructure in August 2021. The project is financed through a USD 400 million loan from the Exim Bank of India.
Physical construction began on August 2, 2022, following an inauguration ceremony attended by President Solih and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during Solih’s visit to India.
The project was originally expected to progress much faster. The Malé–Villimalé connection had initially been targeted for completion in 2023, while the entire bridge project was expected to be completed by mid-2024.
Neither deadline was met.
When President Mohamed Muizzu assumed office, he pledged to review the status of the project within his first 100 days. Within his first week in office, he visited construction sites in Malé, the sea crossing between Malé and Villimalé, and the precasting facilities in Gulhifalhu.
At the time, deep-sea pillar construction was underway in the Malé area, while several completed pillars could already be seen rising from the sea near Villimalé.
The new administration subsequently raised concerns over the project’s progress. During the administration’s first press briefing, former Under Secretary for Public Policy at the President’s Office Mohamed Firzul Abdulla Khaleel said information obtained during the transitional period showed that the project was only around 27 percent complete, despite the previous administration’s expected progress target of 77 percent.
President Muizzu has also spoken about the condition in which the project was inherited. In a recent episode of The Pulse podcast, he said the administration effectively had to restart the project’s physical progress from the beginning after taking office.
A long-awaited connection
Today’s installation represents one of the most visible milestones of the Thilamalé Bridge project so far.
Once fully completed and opened, the bridge is expected to transform the connection between Malé and the surrounding islands included in the project, reducing reliance on sea transport for travel between them.
For residents of Villimalé and Malé, however, today’s ceremony marks only the structural completion of one part of that journey.
The final segment will finally bring the two islands together by bridge, but residents will have to wait until the remaining works are completed before they can actually cross it.
