Housing Minister Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has boasted that the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge (CMFB)’s first superstructure was built on Saturday night.

A tweet posted by the minister early Sunday morning highlighted that two piers- pier 22 and pier 23- were connected last night, adding that the work on the bridge is “on schedule”.

Muizzu had previously stated that the construction work will be completed by July.

Construction of the bridge is fully assigned to the China Harbour Engineering Co. Ltd., the subsidiary of a construction enterprise owned by the Chinese state.

The estimated cost of the 1.39km long bridge is USD210 million, USD120 million is to be paid by the Chinese government as a grant in aid. The remaining will be taken from the country’s state budget, according to the minister.

The project was President Abdulla Yameen’s key pledge during his campaign, and the government began seeking loan to finance its construction in 2013, and was able to reach an agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping a year later. The project was launched in December 2018.