President Visits Thilafushi to Check In on Waste Management Project’s Progress
Photo: President’s Office
President Dr Mohamed Muizzu visited Thilafushi last Thursday to review the progress of the Greater Malé Environmental Improvement and Waste Management Project.
This is a two-phase initiative that aims to establish a sustainable solid waste management system in the Maldives. Muizzu was accompanied by a delegation of cabinet members and senior government officials who assessed the progress at the Thilafushi Regional Waste Management Facility.
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The Asian Development Bank (ADB), Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR), and the Maldivian Government are funding the project’s first phase, which is set to modernise waste collection, transfer, and disposal across the Greater Malé region and outer islands. This phase involves rehabilitating the Thilafushi waste reception facility, constructing new waste transfer stations, and developing a demolition waste processing plant and an end-of-life vehicle dismantling plant. Authorities are also developing a new inter-island waste transfer vessel.
The second phase introduces waste-to-energy (WTE) technology to manage the 774 tonnes of waste generated daily in the region. This phase aims to reduce pollution at Thilafushi’s ageing dumpsite by improving treatment, recycling, and disposal infrastructure while increasing public awareness of sustainable waste management.
According to the President’s Office, operations at the Thilafushi Regional Waste Management Facility have improved significantly. Workers have resumed baling production at a rate of 76 bales per day after a previous halt, and they have relocated 991 bales to optimise space. Efficiency at waste offloading areas has doubled, with vessel clearance times at the Resort Waste Reception Area reduced from one day to one hour and Landing Craft Offloading Area (LCT) clearance times cut from three days to five hours.
Authorities have enhanced security at the facility by installing advanced surveillance systems. They have also repurposed 6,500 tonnes of waste as landfill cover material to clear access roads to the WTE plant. Additionally, they have developed a 5,000-square-metre waste cell to handle waste for the next two years.
These projects are designed to address challenges in waste management and environmental improvement in the Maldives, ensuring continued efficiency in the nation’s efforts to mitigate the climate emergency—a cause the Government continues to champion.
However, the WTE project has been criticised by environmentalists and watch groups for the negative impacts it will have on the environment. In a report published by the Zero Waste Maldives on this issue, they state existing research on this matter shows evidence concerning public safety and the environment. As the research on this issue is limited, they also call for more research to be conducted before proceeding to use incineration ashes in a wide variety of applications.
