The Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC), a principal state-owned entity overseeing nationwide urban infrastructure projects, has adopted a revised operational policy, according to Managing Director Ahmed Saudee, to accelerate completion of its extensive project portfolio. The move, according to him, follows delays caused largely by financial constraints tied to debt servicing obligations.
Saudee announced the policy during MTCC's annual general meeting at Barceló Nasandhura Malé, responding to a shareholder's inquiry regarding stalled project timelines. He noted that the company had been operating with limited funds, as financial resources were primarily directed toward loan repayments.
"After settling the loan obligations, the funds remaining for project operations amount to approximately USD 518,134.72," Saudee elaborated. He remarked that the available amount was "not enough value for the required materials or other costs" while managing 187 active projects, the total handled by the company over the past year.
That constraint has been compounded by capital investments, with approximately USD 51.89 million allocated to machinery procurement as of 23 May, according to Saudee, as part of MTCC's expenditure programme with an emphasis on preventing loan defaults. He acknowledged that this financial prioritisation had significantly slowed progress across project sites.
In light of these challenges, MTCC is shifting to a segmented project delivery model, according to Saudee, outsourcing specific portions of work to third-party contractors. He said that, within the scope of current contractual arrangements, the company aims to complete work "segment-wise through capable parties". He illustrated this approach with a practical example: "Even when it involves basic tasks such as bricklaying and cementing, we are identifying projects that can be awarded in this manner and assigning them to parties with the expectation of timely completion."
Reflecting on the broader shift, Saudee described the new strategy as an "important step to expedite MTCC's work and utilise the company's resources most profitably," expressing confidence in its potential to improve both speed and quality across project execution.