President Mohamed Muizzu visited the land reclamation site in Fushidhiggaru lagoon, 22 months after announcing his flagship project to develop Rasmale' eco city.

He was accompanied by a delegation of ministers, senior officials from the government and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and political appointees on Wednesday evening.

According to the President's Office, Muizzu visited the area and inspected the progress of the reclamation project.

The project was launched on December 18, 2023. Muizzu said the project will be completed in eight months after reclaiming 1,153 hectares of land. But the vast majority of the past 22 months passed without any work.

The latest images from the Sentinel-2 satellite show that about 200 hectares of land has been reclaimed so far. This accounts for just 18 percent of the total land to be reclaimed.

Sentinel 2 image.

The government initially awarded the project to Capital Marine and Civil Construction (CMCC). But the agreement was later cancelled.

The Housing Development Corporation (HDC) took out a huge loan and has now awarded the project to India's Mohan Mutha Exports (MME) and China's China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) and CHEC.

Muizzu first said the government would complete the reclamation without any expenditure from the state budget. But last August, he ordered the advance payment to be made using the state budget.

It has also been revealed that a USD 600 million loan will be taken through three SOEs to finance the project.

The President's Office sent a letter to the Finance Ministry requesting the government to expedite the raising of funds.

Speaking at the Republic Day ceremony on November 11, Muizzu announced that the 15,000 plots of land would be opened from Rasmale'' to the people who live in Male'.