The lighthouse at the southern harbor at Hulhulé, the island in capital Kaafu atoll holding Maldives’ primary airport, will be shut down, the Maldives Transport Authority has announced.
While the Transport Authority announced this on Thursday, revealing that the harbor will be closed from July 8th onwards, the Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) said that the lighthouse and harbour will be shut down to develop a parking space.
MACL said the need for an airport parking space has arisen due to the construction of the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge, linking capital city Malé to Hulhulé.
Adil Moosa, managing director of the MACL, said that the area is also to be reclaimed to make room to construct said parking space. Moosa also said that a new harbor and lighthouse will be constructed elsewhere on the island.
The current harbor and lighthouse are to the western side of the island. The MACL said that the reclamation of the area will begin before the end of June.