Government has officially opened Addu City’s Hankede Bridge to the public from midnight on Saturday.
The project was contracted to India-based Afcons Infrastructure Limited in 2021.
The bridge is located southwest of Hankede which is a separate island on the link road.
The company had completed and officially handed over the project to the government in August last year.
Deputy Minister of Construction, Housing and Infrastructure Ibrahim Nazim told PSM News that the bridge opening was delayed because of a safety check survey.
He pointed out that the Hankede Bridge is just 20 percent of the wider initiative to develop the roads in Addu City.
"The opening had to be delayed a bit because we identified some additional issues that we needed to ensure for the safety and security of the public. We conducted a survey through another third party and after getting that confirmation, we opened it for public use,” Nazim explained.
The Ministry of Construction, Housing and Infrastructure said with the opening of the new bridge, the road used earlier will be closed off and will no longer be used for traffic.
With the Hankede Bridge project, the majority of the USD64.9 million road project in Addu City has been completed, the Ministry said, adding that work of installing the outfall pumps of the drainage systems is currently underway and the entire project is expected to be completed within the next two months.
When this government took office, many roads in Addu City had been dug up for the project by the Indian contractor leading to widespread public complaints. The government has tried to expedite the project in close consultation with the Indian contractor.
The Hankede Bridge is 1.4 kilometres long and boasts four lanes. Addu City Council has announced major changes to traffic flow around the city after the opening of the bridge.