The government has announced the project to develop the Embudu lagoon near capital city Malé as a picnic island for locals.

The announcement was made during a ceremony held at the Art Gallery on Tuesday and Thailand’s Sinha Estate company has been contracted with land reclamation.

At the ceremony, the Ministry of Planning and Infrastructure shared details of the project and President Solih said he expects the project to be completed in early 2020.

Kuda Bandos, located 9.7 kilometers away from capital Malé, was the former picnic island before it was re-opened as a tourist resort in August 2016.

Uninhabited islands that are used by the public for recreational use are known as picnic island.