News Desk
MALE’ — The Maldivian government will officially lay the foundation stone for the new Thilafushi Commercial Port on 6 July, initiating physical works on a massive infrastructure project designed to permanently relocate the country’s primary maritime gateway away from the congested capital. Speaking at a press conference at the President’s Office, the Minister of Economic Development, Trade, and Transport, Mohamed Saeed, detailed the administration’s strategic timeline, confirming that the shifting of the Male’ Commercial Port operations to the newly reclaimed industrial island is projected for completion by November 2027.
Minister Saeed observed that while the country’s main international airport had undergone significant modernisation cycles, maritime port infrastructure had been systematically neglected for decades. The existing capital harbor was developed nearly forty years ago to meet a vastly different era of commercial demand, and subsequent administrations failed to expand its operational capacity. According to the minister, international economic indicators show that aviation and maritime port expansions must progress concurrently to maintain supply chain stability. President Mohamed Muizzu’s administration made the definitive executive decision to proceed with the relocation to rectify this long-standing developmental imbalance.
To manage the logistics during the transition period, the state has formulated an interim plan to alleviate chronic congestion at the Male’ port through a series of phased operational adjustments. Concurrently, regional port revitalisation efforts are underway to boost underutilised maritime facilities in the outer atolls. Saeed confirmed that land reclamation and dredging operations are actively progressing at the Kulhudhuffushi port alongside the introduction of new duty-free warehousing options, while the Addu port is undergoing a one-hectare expansion to accommodate light industrial activities and tax-exempt storage facilities.
