Hulhumalé

Hulhumalé (Dhivehi: ހުޅުމާލެ) is a reclaimed island located in Kaafu Atoll, Maldives. The artificial island was reclaimed to establish a new land mass required to meet the existing and future housing, industrial and commercial development demands of the Malé region. The official settlement was inaugurated by President Gayoom on May 12 2004.

The development and management of the island is undertaken by a Government owned corporation called Hulhumalé Development Corporation (formerly Hulhumalé Development Unit) which was incorporated on March 23 2005.

History

Reclamation of Hulhumalé began on October 16 1997 on the Hulhulé-Farukolhufushi lagoon 1.3 km off the north west coast of Malé. Initial reclamation (or Phase I) consisting of 45% of land mass was carried out by the Ministry of Construction and Public Works (MCPW) costing USD 11,000,000.00. The project was then continued by a Belgian Joint Venture Company, International Port Engineering and Management (IPEM) and Dredging International (DI) costing an estimated USD 21 million. All the works involving reclamation and coastal structure development covered in Phase I was completed by June 2002.

Development

A basis of development known as Phase I was formed under the first Master Plan which was completed in July 2001 by a consortium of consultants from Singapore with the contribution of many government agencies, committees and individuals. It conceptually defines the long-term land use and development strategy (including urban design proposals, transportation plans and utility infrastructure) with considerations for future infrastructure connections to the adjacent Phase II and planned airport extension areas. This Master plan is to be periodically reviewed and adjusted to include advances in development.

Phase I of this Master plan includes:

Stage 1A (completed)
* A 280 room apartment complex with a combination of 2,3 and 4 bedroom units
* An integrated primary and secondary school housing 20 classrooms
* A public building for government and social requirements containing 32 units
* A Hospital with 50 bed capacity
* A Mosque for 1500 persons
* Four commercial buildings with a total of 48 units
* An Asphalt-paved road network approximately 12.5 km long
* An adequate land space for the cultivation of indigenous plants and imported varieties

Stage 1B (To be completed by December 2005)
* 232 Condominium housing units
* 120 Basic housing units
* 169 Beach plots
* 56 Standard plots,
* 132 Terraced houses
* 280 Housing units
* 57 Residential beach front plots
* 109 Residential beach plots
* 56 Residential standard plots.
* 132 Plots for terraced housing
* A public building with 32 public units
* 15 Industrial and commercial land plots with an average of 1,000 m₂ per unit

Stage 1C (planned for 2006)
* 1900 Housing units

Stage 2 (targeted for 2016)
* 2950 Housing units

Stage 3 (targeted for 2020)
* 3075 Housing units

Hulhumalé is currently underutilized relative to other central atolls in the Maldives. It would take the lead of the government to improve utilization by moving government ministers, government departments and public institutions to Hulhumalé and assisting public servants with relocation costs. Pending urban development, greenery landscaping would help make the place more attractive.

External links

* [http://www.hdc.com.mv Hulhumalé Development Corporation]
* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18425626 NPR Morning Edition story, 28 Jan 2008]