Male’, Maldives – President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has decided to assign the first phase works of “Integrated National Public Ferry Network” to Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC).
After the cabinet discussion on the paper presented by the Ministry of National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, President Solih had taken the decision to have MTCC carry out the large-scale ferry network project that is aimed to introduce efficient, affordable, convenient and sustainable passenger and cargo ferry services to all administrative islands of the country.
The projects purpose is to connect the different parts of Maldives which have been secluded due to the lack of a proper transportation system and also to improve the current transport systems in place within the whole Maldives. According to the paper presented by the ministry, through this project, existing ‘dhoani’ ferries would be replaced with high-speed ones in order to improve the service and speed.
As part of the Maldives’ National Spatial Plan (NSP) (2020-2040) which outlines a decentralized approach to urban development to relieve population and development pressures on Malé, produce a more spatially balanced, resilient distribution of economic opportunities, and bolster overall national economic growth, “Integrated National Public Ferry Network” is planned to divide the whole Maldives in to three main zones and six main regions through which all the islands would get connected.
The project is designed to develop “commute links” which are designed to carry passengers who need to travel for work, healthcare and other necessary reasons on a regular basis. “Non-commute link” would be developed to carry people over longer distances within the regions while “highway link” would be used to operate between the regions and zones. In addition to passengers, the network system would also allow to connect the islands with the nearest commercial hub.
