News Desk
MALÉ — Senior officials from Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) met with members of the business community at the Meeruma event centre on Monday, stepping up consultations on the planned transfer of the capital’s commercial port operations to the nearby island of Thilafushi.
The chief executive of the state port operator, Captain Hussain Shafiu, led the discussions alongside senior managers, briefing merchant representatives on the project’s progress and seeking feedback on operational workflows for the new facility. The session forms part of a broader consultation push by MPL, which has already held discussions with government ministries, public state-owned enterprises, media organisations and port labourers.
“The primary objective of these meetings is to gather essential insights from key stakeholders and align our operational plans for Thilafushi with the needs of local businesses,” Captain Shafiu said during an earlier stakeholder round.
The long-debated project aims to resolve severe congestion at the Malé Commercial Harbour — where limited land area and narrow city roads have long throttled cargo handling and created urban traffic bottlenecks.
Designed as a multi-purpose terminal equipped with modern handling infrastructure, the new port at Thilafushi will span an area roughly 12 times larger than the current Malé facility. President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has framed the relocation as a central plank of his administration’s economic policy, assuring that full operations at the new port will commence by 11 November next year. Once open, the terminal is expected to offer 24-hour service.
The consultation follows major contracting milestones for the megaproject. On 20 July, MPL signed an agreement with China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) to construct the primary quay walls. Under that deal, CHEC will build a 375-metre international quay wall with a depth of 14.6 metres to accommodate large container vessels, alongside an 820-metre domestic quay wall with a depth of five metres for inter-atoll craft.
Earlier in June, initial works were awarded to the state-backed Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC). When fully completed by November 2027, the expanded maritime complex will feature over 1,000 metres of international quay line and a domestic terminal with more than 2,000 metres of berthing space.
Port officials anticipate that installing modern quay equipment, including gantry and mobile harbour cranes, will reduce vessel unloading times from seven days to around two. Port authorities expect the resulting efficiency gains to lower freight costs for importers and shipping lines, ultimately easing retail prices for consumers.
