The fuel storage facility at Funadhoo Island in Kaafu (K.) Atoll will be moved to K. Thilafushi instead of K. Maagiri Falhu, the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Operating Officer (CEO) of State Trading Organization (STO), Shimad Ibrahim, has confirmed during a broadcast on Public Service Media (PSM).
Discussions are underway regarding the relocation, with a Danish consultant already onboard, to determine how best to move forward, Ibrahim said.
Relocating to K. Thilafushi would mean the work will be completed within three months, he said.
However, in an earlier interview with a local publication in April, Shimad said dredging and reclamation would begin within 18 months to relocate the facility to K. Maagiri Falhu, which he described as the solution to the fuel storage problem.
The Mohamed Muizzu administration decided to relocate the facility from K. Funadhoo, which had stocked the nation’s fuel supplies for a number of years, to develop the island as a special economic zone (SEZ) and international finance hub — also deciding to connect K. Funadhoo to the capital Malé and the premier gateway to the Maldives, Velana International Airport (VIA).
Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL), on 15 October, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China’s Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG) to establish a monorail connecting Funadhoo, Malé, and VIA.
K. Maagiri Falhu was previously allocated to the Housing Development Corporation (HDC), by the previous Ibrahim Mohamed Solih administration, as compensation for the land issued through its various housing programmes.