President Launches the Second Phase of Gulhi Falhu Development, Calls the Project “Showpiece of Our Development”

At a ceremony held at the President's Office today, President Mohamed Nasheed launched the second phase of Gulhi Falhu development project.

Second phase of the project involve reclamation of 40 hectares of land from Gulhi Falhu to develop a residential area complete with 2500 housing units and all other utilities and municipal services necessary for a residential area. Gulhi Falhu will also be connected to Vilingili via a bridge by the completion of the second phase of the project.

The new township of Male' being developed in Gulhi Falhu under the concept of 'New City, New Life' is expected to complete by the end of 2012 or early 2013.

Speaking at the ceremony, President Nasheed said Gulhi Falhu project would be the “showpiece” of the country's development and the whole project was a green project with a green park at the centre of the project.

The President said “Male’ will not survive without some solution to its housing, some solution to its congestion, some solution to the amount of oil that we are importing everyday.”

“More importantly, we would like to say...that when it works in the Maldives, it will work in India, it will work in China, it will work in many other big countries”, he added.

Global Projects Development Company, the company formed to undertake Gulhi Falhu development following the signing of the concession agreement with the government, has formed partnership with Red Dot of the United States to build housing units using environmentally friendly technology with an emphasis on using renewable energy. Second phase of the project also include a development of a solar park by Red Dot on Gulhi Falhu, which will produce a large share of electricity for the residential area as well as the industrial zone in Gulhi Falhu.

The President said the whole project involved and revolved around a “very specific understanding” between the Maldives and Denmark.

The project is carried out with a financial guarantee from the government of Denmark.

The President said the project was a good example of trade collaboration as well as a “very good example of how a friendly country can actually back a flourishing or a democracy that is in the process of making.”

After the inauguration of the President visited Gulhi Falhu and jointly unveiled the first street of the island named 'Copenhagen Avenue' with the Danish Ambassador to the Maldives Freddy Svane.