Greater Male Connectivity Project: A Flagship of India‑Maldives Cooperation

New Delhi’s Ministry of External Affairs used its regular media briefing on Friday to flag up a project that’s been making headlines in the Indian Ocean – the Greater Male Connectivity Project. Randhir Jaiswal, the ministry’s spokesperson, described it as a shining illustration of the aid India is extending to the Maldives under the Neighbourhood First policy.

At its core, the venture is a 6.74‑kilometre stretch of bridges and roads that will tie the Maldivian capital, Malé, to three neighbouring islands. The first slice – a two‑kilometre bridge spanning the deep waters between Malé and the island of Vilimael – has already been handed over. On 30 August, President Mohamed Muizzu, flanked by senior officials, took a leisurely walk across the newly‑opened span, marking the first time in the archipelago’s history that anyone had traversed the water on foot.

“It was a historic day for the Maldives,” Jaiswal noted, adding that the moment carried special meaning for ordinary island‑dwellers who now have a tangible symbol of improved connectivity. The bridge, built by Afcons, was part of a plan first drawn up in 2021, and the whole corridor is slated for completion by 2026.

Financially, the scheme runs close to US$500 million – a sizeable chunk, but one that India sees as a strategic investment in the region’s socio‑economic fabric. Once the final links are in place, officials say the corridor could unlock new trade routes, tourism flows and job opportunities across the southern atolls.

Maldives Foreign Minister Iruthisham Adam took to the social platform X on Sunday to thank External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and the Indian government for their “unwavering commitment” to the Maldives’ development. He called the Greater Male Connectivity Project a flagship of Maldives‑India cooperation, underscoring how the two nations are moving together toward a shared vision of growth and connectivity.

In short, the project is more than steel and concrete; it’s a concrete (pun intended) sign of a partnership that is being nurtured, one bridge at a time.