UAE firm signs deal for Maldives airport expansion

UAE-based construction company has won a reclamation deal for Maldives airport expansion for a second time.

Gulf Cobla has started reclamation work for the expansion of the Ibrahim Nasir international Airport on Hulhule Island in the Maldives, also known as Malé International Airport, the firm announced.

The group will reclaim over four million cubic metres of sand for the new runway construction, according to its unit Gulf Cobla Tennssor Maldives (GTCM), sister publication Arabian Business reported.

GTMC, which was appointed by contractor Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG), will take the sand from the inner lagoon, where the company dredged more than two million cubic metres of sand for the previous expansion in 2012.

GTCM said it has initially deployed its cutter suction dredger (CSD) Deira Bay, and will follow up with its CSD Khaleej Bay to increase the progress in order to meet the completion date.

GTCM will also do the revetment works to protect the created land for the runway.