MPL launches container clearance services at Thilafushi Port

MPL has begun container clearance services at Thilafushi Port, marking the first service to be offered from the new port as the government pushes ahead with plans to relocate the Male' Commercial Harbour to Thilafushi. The service was launched at a ceremony, where MPL CEO Hussain Shafeeq told PSM News that space to berth vessels and unload containers at Male' and Hulhumale' harbours is currently limited. He said the start of the service at the port under development is a major step forward for vessel clearance, and that services will be moved gradually. "First we are starting FCL clearance operations for vessels. In the near future, we will begin cutting containers and releasing LCL cargo from here. Today we started the work of doing clearance with containers loaded on vessels as they are," Shafeeq said. The government has been working at speed to shift the commercial harbour to Thilafushi in order to remove obstacles to taking the Maldives' economy to another level. Almost all goods imported into the Maldives currently come through Male' Commercial Harbour, making it the country's largest economic operation requiring round-the-clock activity. The government says port services will expand fourfold with the new harbour. Male' Commercial Harbour has been in service since 1986. Since 2015, it has been providing services at three times its capacity, which the government says the relocation to Thilafushi is intended to resolve. The move is also expected to benefit the public by reducing import costs and lowering the price of goods. The government's target is to fully complete Thilafushi Port by November 2027.