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The Ministry of Infrastructure has cancelled its contract with the state-owned Road Development Corporation (RDC) and awarded the major redevelopment of the Addu Link Road to a Chinese engineering firm.
News Desk
Infrastructure Minister Dr. Abdulla Muththalib (left) and China Rotime Engineering Managing Director Zhou Weidong hold the signed agreement for the Addu Link Road project - Photo: Housing Ministry
MALE : The Ministry of Infrastructure has officially terminated its contract with the state-owned Road Development Corporation (RDC) and re-awarded the expansion of the Addu Link Road to a Chinese contractor.
During a signing ceremony held at the Ministry of Infrastructure, Infrastructure Minister Dr. Abdulla Muththalib and Zhou Weidong, Managing Director of China Rotime Engineering and Technology Co., signed the new contract.
The government originally assigned the Addu road and drainage project to RDC in April 2025 for MVR 829.8 million under a three-year-and-nine-month timeline. Although President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu officially inaugurated physical works during a visit to Addu last November, the government cancelled the contract due to a lack of progress over the intervening months.
Under the new agreement, China Rotime Engineering will expand a 12.3-kilometer stretch of the link road, from the Detour Bridge to the Hithadhoo Stadium, into a four-lane highway. However, the ministry has not yet disclosed the contract value or completion deadline for the newly signed agreement.
The original 16-kilometer Addu Link Road, which connects Hithadhoo, Maradhoo, Maradhoofeydhoo, Feydhoo, and Gan, was constructed between 2001 and 2003 under former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom using USD 7.9 million in loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB). Due to a lack of ongoing maintenance, large parts of the crucial highway have suffered severe damage in recent years.
