HULHULE-MALE’ BRIDGE PROJECT

EIA for the proposed Hulhule-Male’ Bridge Project
Executive Summary
The purpose of this document is to fulfil the requirements to get necessary environmental
clearance from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to carry out the proposed Hulhule-
Male’ Bridge Project. The proponent of this project is Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure
(MHI). This EIA has been prepared by China Shipping Environment Technology (Shanghai) Co.
Ltd, China and CDE Consulting, Maldives.
The project involves the construction and operation of a bridge linking Hulhule and Male’ Island
across Gaadhoo Koa atoll pass. This is the first bridge of its kind in the Maldives. The total
length of the proposed bridge is 2 km; the section of the bridge that covers the overwater area
across Gaadhoo Koa channel is 1.39 km. The elevation of the bridge is 20 m. The width of the
bridge is 20 m and there will be four lanes and pedestrian/bicycle lanes. The bridge landing area
on Malé side is next to the Tsunami Monument and onto the Boduthakurufaanu Magu. The
landing area on Hulhule’ is on the southern tip of Hulhule Island. The landing area that connects
with Hulhule needs some land reclamation and shore protection. The source of sand for
reclamation is a proposed harbour at Gulhifalhu Island. The duration of the proposed project is
two years. The projects sites cover the bridge landing areas on the SE corner of Male’ (next to
Tsunami monument), bridge approach located on the reef slopes of Male’ and the bridge main
span located in the deep waters of Gaadhoo Koa. In addition, there will be a casting yard in
Hulhumale’, a worksite in Hulhule and a worksite in Male’ located in “Adi Park”. The project is
expected to employ about 480 persons of which specialist foreign labour will consist of 120
persons and the rest are expected to be sourced from local workforce.
The main rationale for the Hulhule-Malé Bridge is to increase the social development and
economic opportunities in the Malé urban area. One of the biggest bottlenecks to the full
utilization of Malé-Hulhule-Hulhumale as contiguous unit is the absence of land links. The
bridge will link both the airport and Hulhumale’ to Malé and is part of a broader masterplan to
link all the islands within Malé Urban Region spanning from Hulhumale’ to Thilafushi. The
objective of this project is to develop the Malé and Hulhule section of the overall link.
All project activities will be in conformance to the laws and regulations of the Maldives, and
relevant international conventions that Maldives is party to. The key laws and regulations
applicable to this project are Environmental Protection and Preservation Act, The Civil Aviation
Act 2001, Decentralization Act, General Laws Act 4/68 and Law on Cultural and Historical
Places 27/79. The key regulations applicable to this project are , Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) Regulation 2012, Civil Aviation Regulations, Sand and Coral Mining
Regulation, Regulation on Dredging and Reclamation, Regulation on cutting down trees,
Dewatering Regulation, Waste Management Regulation 2013 and Regulation on Environmental
Damage Liabilities 2011/R-9. This EIA is prepared based on the EIA Regulation 2012.
Prepared by: CDE Consulting & China Shipping Environment Technology
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