Heavy Load could complete only 20 percent of the $21m Thilafushi project

Thilafushi Corporation Limited (TCL) has said today that Heavy Load could only complete the reclamation of 32 out of the 157 hectare area it was assigned to reclaim under the $21m project, when the project had to be halted due to various problems.

“Reclamation of about 32 hectare, or 30m square feet, is completed. The project was assigned for them to complete 157 hectare in six months. So they could complete only 20 percent,” the newly-appointed Managing Director of TCL Mohamed Latheef said in an interview with Sun Online today.

Referring to the various challenges faced by TCL, Latheef said that the plan was to conduct business by increasing the size of the land, but failure to complete the reclamation project has resulted in huge losses for the company.

“The disruption or halt of any project results in losses. We hoped for good returns from this project, by transferring businesses to the reclaimed areas. But that has not been possible because the project did not go as planned. We had not kept proper records of how much losses we have incurred,” he said.

Heavy Load was assigned the Thilafushi reclamation project on 11 February 2011. It was supposed to be completed in six months; but the project was disrupted in October 2011 due to technical and financial difficulties. The guarantee check of Rf16.1m issued upon disruption of the project also bounced.

Latheef said that discussions are ongoing with Heavy Load, and that despite some projects not being so successful, TCL’s future ‘looks promising’. He assured that no project assigned while he is MD of the company will be in ‘violation of best practice’.

“I don’t want to talk about past projects. There are problems with projects always; I think it is because we fail to work according to best practice. I assure you that I will not approve of any project that is in violation of best practice,” he said.

Latheef is faced with several problems which need to be solved immediately. The biggest challenge is to make Thilafushi a safe place.

“I know that the Thilafushi area environment is not good for people to work at. We have to make it better. We have to ensure that the clients are not disturbed by the smoke and poisonous matter, because different types of work will commence in the newly reclaimed area.”

Latheef hopes to make Thilafushi an ‘industrial hub’. His target is to establish better transport services to Thilafushi, improve its infrastructure, and to make it attractive for businessmen.

He said that he will make TCL a profitable company.

“We took a subsidised Rf500,000 from the budget to create this company, which has been now been returned. We have been operating on a profit so far, and it will be the same in the future. I have ideas on how the business can be expanded. They have to be presented the Board. The company’s future looks brighter than before,” he said.