Environmental impact assessment proposed 14-storey building with basement at Ma. Alidhooge Male’

Abstract

Apollo Holdings Pvt. Ltd., proposes to develop a 14-Storey Building with Basement at Ma. Alidhooge found on Shaheed Kudanevi Thuthu Manik Hingun, Male’ for mixed use and residential purpose. The total area of the plot is 6,531.9 sqft. The development footprint will be 5,274.42sq.ft. An open space of 525.49sq.ft will be left within the plot. The project is expected to be completed in 1.8 years. ii. The site will be excavated to a depth of 3m to lay the foundations and develop the basement area which will have a floor height of 2.3m. The entire boundary will be sheet piled to depths of 3.5 - 4m with corrugated sheets supported by iron beams as a safety and protection measure while preparing the site ready for construction. A raft foundation has been proposed for the building. iii. Once completed, the building will have 13 residential floors with 2 bedroom, 3+1 bedroom and 4+1 bedroom apartments, ground floor for commercial use including shops and a mini mart and basement with car and motorcycle parking, storage, M&E room, chamber, admin, security room. A total of 36 x 2 bedroom, 24 x 3+1 bedroom and 2 x 4+1 bedroom unit will be developed for residential use. The rooftop on the 14th floor will have a play area, swimming pool, gym and a private garden area. It is estimated that around 300 persons can be accommodated in the residential units of the building. iv. The EIA has been prepared as per the EIA Regulations 2012 developed directly under the Environmental Protection and Preservation Act and identifies that development of such buildings exceeding 31m in height and with basements or over 10 storeys with greater than 5ft foundation require an EIA to be undertaken and approved by EPA before commencement of construction. v. In addition to Environmental Protection and Preservation Act, EIA Regulations, the project has to comply with Dewatering Regulation, Waste Management Regulation, Male’ Planning Regulation, Land Act as well as comply with Maldives National Building Code recommendations. area, assessments have been undertaken including ambient noise levels, traffic volume and movement, groundwater quality, soil and vegetation, physical condition of the surrounding buildings and roads as well as social assessments in the neighbourhood. vii. The proposed development will take place in the central part of Male’ City, Machchangoalhi District. The plot is within Block Number 194. The land plot is located at 4°10'33.51"N and 73°30'31.73"E. The proposed development area will be 5,274.42sq.ft of the 6,531.90sq.ft total plot area. The main connectivity to Alidhooge will be from Shaheed Kudanevi Thuthu Manik Hingun, which is a oneway road from east to west connected to Chandhanee Magu. viii. Noise levels recorded from the sites were Site 1 51dB (10:00hrs), 65dB (18:00hrs) and 60dB (21:00hrs), Site 2 56dB (10:00hrs), 69dB (18:00hrs) and 64dB (21:00hrs), Site 3 50dB (10:00hrs), 67dB (18:00hrs) and 61dB (21:00hrs), Site 4 49dB (10:00hrs), 59dB (18:00hrs) and 62dB (21:00hrs) and Site 5 48dB (10:00hrs), 63dB (18:00hrs) and 57dB (21:00hrs). Based on noise level records, 18:00hrs, which coincided with schools afternoon session finish period was recorded to have the highest noise levels on all sites except for Site 4 where highest noise level occurred at 21:00hrs. The highest noise levels were recorded from Chandhanee Magu, which is a main road in Male’ City where there is greater traffic movement most of the time. ix. The traffic volume was assessed to be generally high especially on Chandhanee Magu which is a main road in Male’ City. The highest traffic on both roads were recorded at 18:00hrs time period. This is mainly because the three school on Chandhanee Magu, Iskandhar School, Aminiya School and Arabiyya School finish their afternoon sessions at this time slot. The highest traffic volume at this period was from motorcycles having 1,942 on Chandhanee Magu and 773 on Shaheed Kudanevi Thuthu Hingun. All other traffic types including cars, pickups and lorries were recorded to be very low as such vehicles are not allowed during school rush hours. Pedestrian movement at this time was also observed to be extremely high. good and free from contamination and pollution. The faecal colifirm levels were at 0 and salinity levels were at 0.650/00. xi. There is no vegetation present in the proposed plot hence, vegetation assessment was not undertaken. xii. The neighbourhood of block 194 as well as nearby blocks (195 and 196) has a number of multistorey buildings, most of which are believed to be used for residential purpose except for the ground floor of these buildings where it is used for commercial purpose such as shops. However, on the adjancent of Alidhooge plot, only one multistorey is found, which is located on the eastern side at Shimaagu. The buildings is currently under construction and 6 sheets have been completed out of 10 sheets. Other plots on the adjacent of Alidhooge at Gurumful on the northern side has 2 storey building and Anbaraa on the western side has a single storey building. The structure of Shimaagu is 2 - 3 years old. The buildings at Gurumful is less than 5 years old. xiii. The condition of these roads are observed to be good. No cracks or physical damages were found. xiv. There are some concerning environmental impacts from the proposed project, such as excavation, dewatering, construction activities, operation of construction machinery, construction waste generating environmental impacts such as noise, dust and pollution are believed to occur. Social impacts such as traffic congestion, disturbance to nearby residents have been predicted as well as health problems as a result of dust have been identified. During operation period of the project, domestic waste and traffic are believed to increase. xv. As part of the proposed project, a number of mitigation measures have been proposed in the EIA Report including using corrugated sheets supported by iron beams as a safety measure for protecting the excavated area for foundation, dewatering will be undertaken upon approval from EPA, while preparing the site ready for construction, measures such as installation of safety and dust protection nets, appropriate signage will be placed to make aware people on the development. Important considerations with regards to mitigating environmental impacts include closing the boundary of the project area, placing dust nets around the building, regularly transporting construction waste and avoiding material transport during peak traffic hours as well as designating proper time periods for construction works have been identified. xvi. Although the project has short-term environmental impacts from the proposed development, the project has more social and economic benefits, which is believed to tremendously contribute to the need for residential and commercial space in Male’, create some employment opportunities and contribute to the local economy in Male’ in the long-term. xvii. Although during construction of the project, negative environmental impacts from construction activities have been envisaged, with appropriate environmental management and mitigation measures, these impacts will be reduced to a considerable level. Also, with positive socio-economic outlook of the project and considering the need for additional space in Male’, it is concluded that the project is an important development.