Dutch marine contractor Boskalis recently completed an extensive land reclamation campaign on the island of Gulhifalhu in the Maldives.
The works were carried out over a period of nine months using the trailing suction hopper dredgers Oranje, Queen of the Netherlands, Willem van Oranje, and Prins der Nederlanden.
The development is part of an overarching plan by the Ministry of Construction and Infrastructure of the Maldives. The reclamation itself was carried out with an extensive environmental monitoring and mitigation program creating urgently needed space for social housing on the densely populated archipelago.
In the coming months, the project team will be working on the installation of a revetment over a length of 2.6 kilometres to protect this part of Gulhifalhu against erosion.
The development of Gulhifalhu, which is located approximately four kilometres from the capital Malé, is part of a strategic plan to improve and develop the port infrastructure as well as ensure this part of the Maldives is resilient to rising sea levels.