MPL begins relocating Male' Commercial Port services to Thilafushi

The practical work to relocate the services of the Male' Commercial Port to Thilafushi began on Tuesday. 

Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) said in a post on X that, as part of the first step in the relocation process, clearing containers have now been shifted to the Thilafushi Cargo Terminal. MPL said container stripping and emptying services will also begin at the Thilafushi terminal in the near future.

In a video released by Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed in late September, MPL stated that the domestic quay will be completed by November, while the international quay is expected to be finished by July. The new port is a USD 250 million project. The first phase was awarded to China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC) in February this year. Developed on 20 hectares of land, the port will have the capacity to handle 300,000 TEUs annually, more than double the 135,000 TEUs handled last year.

The government aims to fully relocate the commercial port to Thilafushi by November 11 next year. MPL said the relocation is the permanent solution to the space constraints and congestion issues long faced at the Male' port. Built in the 1980s on just five hectares of land, the port sometimes takes more than two weeks to clear cargo, resulting in damage charges and contributing to rising prices, according to media reports.

Today marks a significant milestone for Maldives Ports Limited as we begin migrating operations from Malé Commercial Harbour to the Thilafushi. As a first step, we have commenced handling of FCL containers cleared by sea transport at Thilafushi Cargo Terminal (TCT), where unstripped containers are loaded directly onto vessels. We will be expanding services in the near future to include cargo stripped from containers. Full migration is expected to be completed by November 11, 2027. #mpl #maldivesportslimited #portoftomorrow #portrelocationproject #mplhidhumathugaa

— Maldives Ports Limited (@Portmv) October 27, 2026

To provide temporary relief, the government recently increased the demurrage-free period from 80 hours to 124 hours by shifting clearance operations to a 24-hour schedule. Earlier this year, around 4,200 containers destined for the Maldives were stranded at Colombo Port due to congestion. With the opening of the new port, the government has announced that the current seven-day clearance period will be reduced to 48 hours.

MPL expects all services of the Male' Commercial Port to be transferred to Thilafushi before November 11 next year.