Construction of a hospital in R. Alifushi, according to Health Minister Ahmed Naseem, would commence in the fourth quarter of this year.

Minister Naseem made the declaration in response to a request from Inguraidhoo MP Hassan Ahmed (Hassantay) for a formal answer from the Health Minister about the Alifushi hospital project.

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, his statement was read out in the Parliament.

It was confirmed by Naeem that the project's design and bill of quantity were completed.

A foreign contractor was chosen to carry out this project using the USP model, and a framework agreement was signed on June 30, 2021, between the contractor and the Maldivian government.

Minister Naseem said that, Currently, the focus is on completing administrative requirements between the two parties in order to go forward. 

According to Naseem, "practical work on this project is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of this year."

Hassantay also received a written response from Planning Minister Mohamed Aslam regarding the Alifushi land reclamation and airport development project.

Hassantay wants to know when construction on the airport is going to begin, as well as how much land will be reclaimed.

On September 1, the Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) and the Planning Ministry signed a contract for the project.

Following completion of the Environmental Impact Assessment and design phase, Aslam announced that land reclamation would begin. He expects the procedure to take six months.

According to Aslam, the project will result in the reclamation of 50.5 hectares of land.

As for the third inquiry, Hassantay wanted to know when construction on the Alifushi road would begin.

When asked about the water and sanitation project in Alifushi, Aslam replied that it was currently underway and that road construction will commence once the project was completed.

This year's contract for road development will commence once the [water and sanitation] project is completed in Q2 of 2022, he said.