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In the presence of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih of the Maldives, Boskalis’ trailing suction hopper dredger Oranje has started work on the land reclamation project on the island of Gulhifalhu.
In his inauguration speech, the president called this dredging project “an important development initiative with significant, positive impacts for the entire country”.
On behalf of the Ministry of National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, Boskalis is working on the second phase of the expansion of Gulhifalhu – the company also executed the first phase in recent years.
In the coming year Boskalis will be dredging and reclaiming approximately 18 million cubic meters of sand to further develop the island.
After completion, commercial port in Male’ will relocate to Gulhifalhu and become a regional commercial port. This second phase will also enable housing development on the newly reclaimed land.
In order to manage the environmental impacts of the dredging and land reclamation activities, the contractor has conducted a comprehensive environmental impact assessment in accordance with the highest international standards.
To mitigate possible adverse effects, Boskalis is implementing various measures, including coral relocation and measures to limit the spreading of sediments in the water in combination with regular monitoring of the water quality.