Sinamalé Bridge
The Sinamalé Bridge links the islands of Malé, Hulhulé and Hulhumalé in the Maldives. The 2.1 km long bridge has two car lanes and separate lanes for motorcycles, and pedestrians, and opened on 30 August 2018. It was originally called the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge due to funding received from the Chinese government. It is the first inter-island bridge in the Maldives.
The idea of a bridge between the two islands of Malé and Hulhulé was first raised in 2007 and was widely discussed in 2008 following the pledge on constructing a bridge by the then president Maumoon during his presidential campaign. Mohamed Nasheed, another presidential candidate, and the opposition criticized the idea at first, but later presented a counter pledge to link Malé, Hulhulé Island, Hulhumalé, Villingili, and Gulhifalhu via a bridge.
Nasheed won the following election, and on 20 December 2011, his cabinet decided to proceed with the construction of the bridge between Malé and Hulhule under the Malé decongestion plans "to provide affordable housing for the people, and resolve other social issues", according to an announcement made on a government website. However, the project stalled when Nasheed resigned. It was restarted by president Abdulla Yameen in 2014 and was officially inaugurated in 2018.
It is estimated the bridge would cost US$210 million, of which US$126 million will be paid by the Chinese government as a grant in aid. China Harbour Engineering is the main contractor and had been praised for the Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge in Malaysia.
