Minister of Housing and Infrastructure, Mohamed Muizzu, has refuted claims that the tarmac recently laid on capital city Malé’s outer road has been damaged, only months after it was opened for use.
In response to photographs circulating on social media, that depicts a slit through the tarmac revealing a wooden layer underneath, minister Muizzu said that this was done deliberately.
The minister said that wooden platforms cover sewer appurtenances and were used on sewer openings that needed to adequetely leveled, claiming that this was done out of necessity in order to open the road for use as soon as possible.
Muizzu said that the tarmac covering sewer openings are now being broken deliberately in order to properly install covering and level it with the road, a lenghty process, Muizzu explains.
The Boduthakurufaanu Magu, the capital’s largest stretch which encircles the entire island, opened for use on September 9th, after the Malé Ring Road Development Project.
The Malé Ring Road Development Project closed off large sections of the road to have it connect to the Sinamalé Bridge – known commonly as China-Maldives Friendship Bridge – linking Malé to Hulhulé.
The project was carried out amidst protests from environmental protection groups and residents of Malé. The Environmental Protection Agency, which had then maintained silence about the project, last month fined the Housing Ministry for multiple violations of environmental protection laws in carrying out the project.
