The Gulhi Falhu project, a significant land reclamation initiative launched during the administration of former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, has now reached completion. The Ministry of Construction and Infrastructure confirmed on Monday, 15th April that the dredging and reclamation of 150 hectares of land at Gulhi Falhu has been finalized.
The project, which aimed to provide land plots for residents of the congested capital Malé, was contracted to Boskalis, a Netherlands-based company. While land allocation commenced during the previous administration, the reclamation had not been fully completed by the government handover, leading to the distribution of land only from the areas that had been reclaimed at the time.
The original agreement with Boskalis, signed in 2019, involved the reclamation of 65 hectares of land at an estimated cost of MVR 2 billion. However, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu later expanded the project’s scope to include a total of 150 hectares of reclaimed land.
The Gulhi Falhu project has been subject to a legal challenge, with the High Court issuing a temporary order to halt the project due to claims of irreversible environmental harm. The state appealed this decision at the Supreme Court, obtaining a stay of implementation of the High Court order. No final verdict on this case has been reached at this time.
Furthermore, the government has made changes to the land use plans for both Gulhi Falhu and Giravaru Falhu. The changes to the Giravaru Falhu plan have reduced the number of land plots available at that location. As a consequence, 1347 individuals previously designated to receive land on Giravaru Falhu will instead be granted plots on Gulhi Falhu.
