Infrastructure Minister Abdulla Muththalib has said that the Thilamale' bridge work was not being carried out at the pace wished by the government and the bridge developer Afcons blamed bad weather and rough seas for the delays.

Speaking at a press conference at the President's Office yesterday, Muththalib said 42.82 percent of the bridge project is completed. However, the bridge is not being constructed at the pace wished by the Maldives government, he said. He cited the deep-sea piling effort as an example of the slow work.

"I would like to point out that some works are sometimes delayed by the contractor citing weather changes such as rough seas. A big part of the work does not seem slow but some critical works are not progressing at the speed we want,” Muththalib said.

The construction of the bridge to connect Male' with Thilafushi was awarded to Afcons of India on September 16, 2021, to be completed in two phases. The agreement was to complete the bridge from Male' to Gulhifalhu within 27 months and from Gulhifalhu to Thilafushi within 32 months. The entire bridge was scheduled to be completed by May 17, 2024.

However, a supplementary agreement was signed with Afcons by the previous government and the completion date of the first phase was extended to 51.5 months. The deadline for completion of the second phase was extended to 45 months.

So the entire bridge is now scheduled to be completed by September 20, 2026.

Muththalib said the deadline was agreed as proposed by Afcons and the government does not accept the excuses given for the delays. The current deadline for completion of the bridge cannot be extended for these reasons, he said.

"We have already mentioned to the contractor that we do not believe that the rough seas were an opportunity for them to get an extension," Muththalib said.

He said the Maldives government was working with the Indian government and Afcons to expedite the work and complete the bridge on schedule.