Environmental impact assessment for the proposed breakwater construction in Hulhudhuffaru, Raa Atoll, Maldives

Abstract

The project is proposed by Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure. The project entails construction of breakwaters along the channel in the island of Hulhudhuffaru. A 130m long breakwater will be built on the northern side of the channel while 30 m structure will be built on the southern end. Additionally, the harbor basin will be dredged to obtain an even depth of 3m from MSL. Dredge material will be stockpiled north of the harbor. Proposed excavation and breakwater construction will be carried out using an excavator on barge, cranes and dump trucks. The project is expected to be completed within 250 days. Under the Maldives Environmental Protection and Preservation Act (Law No. 4/93) and EIA Regulation 2012, such developments require an EIA to be carried out and the environmental clearance is given in the form of a Decision Statement by EPA. The project proponent commissioned Sandcays Pvt. Ltd to carry out the EIA. The scope of the EIA report is to assess, identify, predict and document potential environmental impacts from the proposed breakwater replacement and maintenance dredging by Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure in Raa. Hulhudhuffaru. As the existing channel is rough and harbor basin has become shallow due to sediment deposition from surrounding areas, the key aim of the proposed project is to provide a safe access and mooring area for as many vessels as possible during both the monsoons. Baseline environmental conditions of the site have been undertaken for which environmental impacts from the project has been identified and evaluated. Also, some alternatives, in terms of alternative materials, design and dredge material disposal to the project as well as no project development option have been stated. Preferred options have been stated over alternatives for the proposed project implementation. The environmental impacts that are associated with the proposed breakwater construction are divided into construction phase and operation phase environmental impacts. Most of the construction phase environmental impacts are believed to occur from construction of breakwater and maintenance dredging. The main environmental impacts associated with the proposed project include changes in marine water quality and possible changes in oceanographic setting of the project area. As part of the proposed development, a number of mitigation measures will be taken into consideration; such as careful planning of the project implementation, reusing and appropriately disposing of construction waste and undertaking regular environmental monitoring to asses any changes to the environment due to project activities and formulate mitigation measures to unexpected impacts. The overall environmental performance will be monitored by an environmental monitoring framework that will be implemented as part of the proposed breakwater construction project on Raa. Hulhudhuffaru.