Maldives ready to start coastal protection project for Fuvahmulah City
Vice President Faisal Naseem of the Maldives stated that development projects are ongoing across the country and that projects have been completed, or are underway, on each and every single island.
Naseem spoke at the launch ceremony of the Fuvahmulah City’s coastal protection project on 12 December.
Long-awaited sea wall
Shedding his light on Fuvahmulah City’s coastal protection project, the Vice President remarked that a long-awaited 2.6 km sea wall from the north of Fuvahmulah harbour to the east of the island will now be realised. He noted that the initiative has been in the planning stage for the past ten years.
Present at the ceremony was Ambassador of the Netherlands to Sri Lanka and Maldives, Mrs Tanja Gonggrijp, since the Netherlands plays an important role in the realisation of the sea wall.
An impact assessment has been done by consultancy firm Royal HaskoningDHV and the realisation is co-financed by Invest International, a new partnership of impact investors in Dutch solutions that contribute to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The realisation of the 300 million Maldivian Rufiyaa (17 million euro) project has been awarded to Danish construction firm Højgaard.
Large swell waves
The southern islands of the Maldives, a small archipelagic state in the Indian Ocean, are experiencing severe erosion, and flooding problems. The coastline of the islands is heavily exposed to large swell waves travelling thousands of kilometres across the ocean.
These waves are causing erosion of the ridge that protects the low-lying centre of one of the islands, Fuvahmulah, against flood hazards. If the erosion of the coastal ridge continues, large parts of the island of will be flooded.
Expert analyses of numerical models by Royal HaskoningDHV, resulted in the design conditions of an onshore rock revetment stretching 2.6 km.
Royal HaskoningDHV also supported the Maldives government in the final design and the tendering of the construction.
