Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has revealed that AFCONS Infrastructure , the contractor for Thila-Male’ Bridge has rejected their assessment report on the damages caused to Vilimalé reef by the bridge platform which got grounded.
The bridge platform which was brought in for geo-technical studies of the Thila-Male’ Bridge was removed on August 27, 2022 from the reef 12 days after it was grounded.
According to initial comments and pictures from EPA and local NGO’s after the platform was removed, holes over 10 feet deep made by the legs of the platform were found on the reef.
Speaking to local media, Director General of EPA, Ibrahim Naeem told that they had sent the initial assessment report to AFCONS for their comments upon which they rejected the report and company wants to carry out their own assessment to gauge the damages. He also added that AFCONS has been given additional 7 days to comment on the report sent by EPA.
AFCONS had stated that the assessed area was much bigger and demanded to carry out their own survey after they rejected the offer to participate in the initial survey carried out by EPA after the platform was removed.
AFCONS had previously told that they will respect the decision of EPA after their assessment. Maldivian government had also said that AFCONS will not be treated differently for being an Indian company.
AFCONS also told that the platform grounding will not affect the scheduled completion dates of the project.
