India and Maldives on Thursday will sign a contract on the mega Greater Male Connectivity project (GMCP), the largest infrastructure project in the country.
The project, funded by an Indian grant of $100 m and a Line of Credit of $400 m is also the biggest new development project by India in its neighbourhood in recent years. The project, the largest in the Indian Ocean atoll nation, will begin with the signing of the contract between the Maldives government and Indian infrastructure company AFCONS in Male.
Called the Greater Male Connectivity Project, it will involve the construction of a 6.74 km long bridge and causeway link connecting the capital Male with the adjoining islands of Villingli, Gulhifalhu and Thilafushi.
Before this, the largest connectivity project in the Maldives was the 1.4 km bridge connecting Male to the Maldives airport in Hulhule island, and to the Hulumalhe island.
Discussions on the GMCP were initiated during the visit of External Affairs Minister S Jaisankar to Male in September 2019.
A planned new airport at Gulhifalu under an Indian Line of Credit, and the fact that Thilafushi is where the Maldives industrial zone is located, will make the GMCP and “economic lifeline”, officials said.