News Desk
MALE’ — A team from the China Railway Design Corporation has arrived in the Maldives to begin site inspections and structural design work for a comprehensive road and drainage overhaul across Malé and Villingili, funded by a USD 130 million Chinese government grant.
The grant was agreed during President Dr Mohamed Muizzu’s state visit to China. A Letter of Exchange formally activating the design and planning framework was signed in October 2025. The arrival of the engineering team this week marks the start of the design phase, following earlier preliminary feasibility work by Chinese technical teams.
The project covers complete road reconstruction across Malé and the neighbouring island of Villingili, alongside a full overhaul of urban stormwater drainage systems. Chronic seasonal flooding in Malé has long been one of the capital’s most persistent infrastructure problems, and drainage improvement is a central component of the plan alongside road surface reconstruction and improved transit safety.
Chinese Ambassador Kong Xianhua said Beijing is treating the project as a priority. “Resolving the road issues that concern Maldivian citizens is a matter of great importance to China,” he said. “We will work hand-in-hand with the government to upgrade the streets and improve drainage systems to tangibly better public life.”
The China Railway Design Corporation team will conduct site mapping and finalise engineering layouts before construction can begin. No construction start date has been announced.
The project is being delivered as a grant rather than a loan, meaning the Maldives will not carry additional debt from the infrastructure work. For a government that has spent much of the past two years managing a significant debt burden, the grant structure is a meaningful distinction.
