HULHULE-MALE’ BRIDGE PROJECT

EIA for the proposed Hulhule-Male’ Bridge Project
of oil spillage which may have disastrous environmental consequences. To prevent ship collision
with the piers, EPA recommended the piers to be equipped with safety measures.
The third concern that EPA raised in the meeting was regarding the Varunulaa Raalhugandu,
which is currently used by local surfers for leisure surfing and for hosting national and
international surfing competitions. EPA questioned whether any studies have been done to
understand the changes in the hydrodynamics of the waves from the construction of the bridge. It
was recommended that further studies be done to understand the effect of bridge construction on
the hydrodynamics of the waves in the bridge area.
As a fourth concern, EPA asked about the management of storm water that will be collected on
the bridge. Of particular concern was how the storm water would be discharged. EPA advised
that the drainage of storm water into the sea should be well dispersed from points of low
elevation, to prevent sudden changes in the pH and temperature of the surrounding environment.
Sudden changes in pH and temperature will have negative impacts on the marine flora and
fauna. EPA also warned that if mass amounts of water were discharged at the end of the bridge
on to the beach, the beach would have a problem of erosion.
Another interesting point made by EPA was regarding the inclusion of a pedestrian path in the
bridge design. Some officials from EPA maintained that the pedestrian path is unnecessary since
the walking distance is too long and therefore very few would use the pedestrian path. They also
explained that the pedestrian path might be a safety hazard to the public if effective measures
such as strong fencing between the pedestrian lane and vehicle lanes are not implemented. The
experience of Addu Link Road suggests that the risk of accidents will be high on the bridge as
well since the bridge allows a high speed limit of 60km/hr. EPA also notes that allowing
pedestrians on the bridge will cause many issues like people going fishing on the bridge, taxis
stopping to pick up people, risk of people committing suicide from the bridge, protesting etc. It
is recommended that the pedestrian path is either removed from the bridge design or strong
fences be built to separate the vehicle lane and pedestrian lane.
EPA also pointed out that there is not enough information to assess the risk of bridge activities
on the reef slopes. It is expected that the loading and unloading of vehicles can create fatigue of
reef slope. Therefore EPA suggests that the design of the bridge should address the problem of
long-term fatigue of the reef slopes.
Prepared by: CDE Consulting & China Shipping Environment Technology
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