Male | Work for the Thilamale' Bridge, financed by India, is 60 per cent complete with the conclusion of piling works under the project, Maldives' Infrastructure Minister Abdulla Muthalib revealed on Tuesday.

The 6.7 km Thilamale Bridge -- that links capital Male with Vilimale, Thilafushi and Gulhifalhu on its west -- is financed under an Indian grant of USD 100 million and a USD 400 concessional credit line from India's Exim Bank.

“The piling work for the Thilamale Bridge has been successfully completed, marking the most challenging phase of the project. A total of 263 piles were installed across 68 onshore and offshore locations,” Muthalib said in a post on X.

“With this milestone achieved, the project has now reached 60.84 per cent completion,” he added.

The Thilamale' Bridge project is one of the biggest projects initiated by the former president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's administration, news portal Sun.mv said.

The bridge will feature the tallest precast segments to be produced in the world at 8.2 meters, it added.

The project was awarded to India's Afcons Infrastructure in August 2021.

The initial deadline to complete Thilamale' Bridge was set for last year but it has been given revised deadlines on multiple occasions, Sun.mv added.