Maldives to Begin China-Backed Capital Road Overhaul This Year

MALÉ,  – The sweeping redevelopment of all roads in Malé and Villimާlé, funded entirely by grant aid from the Chinese government, will prioritize the transformation of the capital’s primary arteries, with physical works targeted to begin later this year, the Minister of Infrastructure has announced.

The ambitious infrastructure project, which will be executed under the auspices of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), was initially announced by President dr Mohamed Muizzu. Preliminary agreements for the project’s feasibility studies were signed in China in July of last year.

A technical team from China is currently on-site in the capital conducting extensive surveys and research required to formulate the project’s engineering blueprints. Dr Abdulla Muthalib, the Minister of Infrastructure, and Kong Xuanyou, the Chinese Ambassador to the Maldives, jointly inspected the progress of these field surveys on Monday.

Speaking to reporters following the inspection, Dr Muthalib detailed that the initiative is structured into two primary components, beginning with the comprehensive design phase of the entire road network for both islands. Engineers are focusing heavily on integrating structural solutions to alleviate the capital’s chronic urban flooding and other long-standing municipal challenges.

The minister confirmed that the initial physical implementation will focus on Malé’s critical thoroughfares. “Our objective is to complete the ongoing preparatory phases so that physical works can commence by late this year or early next year,” Dr Muthalib said. He specified that the first phase will target Majeedhee Magu, Shaheed Ali Hingun, and Kanbaa Aisa Rani Hingun-the main road servicing the Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH)-alongside the primary access roads surrounding the hospital site in Villimާlé.

The current deployment follows an initial round of preliminary technical assessments conducted by Chinese teams in late 2024 to establish the baseline parameters for the modernised urban transit network.