Financing has not been secured yet for the bridge project to connect Addu's Hithadhoo and Hulhumeedhoo that President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu said would begin this year, Construction Minister Dr. Abdulla Muththalib said today.
The minister's remarks came in response to a question from Hithadhoo Medhu MP Ahmed Azaan. The opposition has been alleging that the bridge project has stalled, Azaan said, asking for clarification.
In response, Muththalib said that the Addu bridge project was one of the highest priorities for the government. The government has signed an MoU and worked together with a party that submitted a proposal for the project after determining that the company was capable of undertaking the project, he said.
"Now their main task is to arrange funding for such a project. It is up to them under the MoU to arrange the funds. The government will take the loan but they will arrange it," Muththalib said.
Conceding that financing has not been arranged so far, Muththalib said that it was the reason for delays in signing a contract with the company. However, the government has engaged in talks with some parties proposed by the company, Muththalib said.
"What we're doing at the moment is, like I said, talking to parties proposed by them and trying to arrange the kind of financing that the government could agree to. If it can be arranged, we will sign and go ahead. If it can't be arranged, we will go ahead with another party that can do it," he said.
The company that submitted the proposal for the Addu bridge was the Arab Contractors Group from Egypt. On February 19, the government signed an agreement to carry out surveys needed for the bridge construction.
"The agreement signed today will then change into a contract. With the change to a physical work contract, physical work on this bridge will begin during this year. My estimate is about three and a half years, four years. God willing, we will complete work during this term," the President said in Addu Meedhoo.
The survey needed for Arab Contractors to design the bridge has concluded, the Construction Ministry said on March 10. However, the government has not disclosed any further details about the bridge project since then.
