earth science

Hulhumalé

Hulhumalé is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Hulhumalé rather than just read about it. In short: Hulhumalé (Dhivehi pronunciation: [huɭumɑːlɛ]; Dhivehi: ހުޅުމާލެ) is a reclaimed island located in the south of North Malé Atoll, Maldives. The artificial island is being built up by pumping sand from the sea floor, in order to meet the existing and future housing, industrial and commercial development demands of the Malé region and as a response to the threat posed by rising sea levels.

Key takeaways

Hulhumalé belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Hulhumalé to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Hulhumalé from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Hulhumalé (Dhivehi pronunciation: [huɭumɑːlɛ]; Dhivehi: ހުޅުމާލެ) is a reclaimed island located in the south of North Malé Atoll, Maldives. The artificial island is being built up by pumping sand from the sea floor, in order to meet the existing and future housing, industrial and commercial development demands of the Malé region and as a response to the threat posed by rising sea levels. The official settlement was inaugurated by President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom on May 12, 2004. The development and management of the island is undertaken by a government-owned corporation called Housing Development Corporation (formerly Hulhumalé Development Unit and Urbanco), incorporated on March 23, 2005. Land reclamation has increased the island's area to 4 km2 (1.5 sq mi), making it the fourth largest island in the Maldives. As of December 2019 the island has a population of more than 50,000; it is planned to house as many as 240,000 by the mid-2020s.

Location within Malé City Hulhumalé is located northeast of the airport island of Hulhulé, to which it is connected by a causeway: Hulhumalé is also represented at the local level by one councilor in the Malé city council.

History Reclamation of Hulhumalé began on October 16, 1997, on the Hulhulé-Farukolhufushi lagoon 1.3 km (0.81 mi) off the northwest coast of Malé. Initial reclamation (or Phase I), consisting of 45% of land mass, 188 hectares (460 acres), was carried out by the Ministry of Construction and Public Works (MCPW) at a cost of USD 11 million. The project was then continued by a Belgian Joint Venture Company, International Port Engineering and Management (IPEM) and Dredging International (DI) costing an estimated US$21 million. All the works involving reclamation and coastal structure development covered in Phase I were completed by June 2002, and 1,000 residents moved to the island in 2004. In the next phase of reclamation, completed in 2015, 244 hectares (600 acres) were added; and, by the end of 2019, there were more than 50,000 residents.

Development

A basis of development known as Phase I was formed under the first Master Plan which was completed in July 2001 by a consortium of consultants from Singapore with the contribution of many government agencies, committees and individuals. It conceptually defines the long-term land use and development strategy (including urban design proposals, transportation plans and utility infrastructure) with considerations for future infrastructure connections to the adjacent Phase II and planned airport extension areas. The Master Plan is to be periodically reviewed and adjusted to include advances in development. Phase I of the Master Plan includes:

Stage 1A (completed)

A 280-room apartment complex with a combination of 2,3 and 4 bedroom units An integrated primary and secondary school housing 20 classrooms A public building for government and social requirements containing 32 units A hospital with 50 bed capacity A mosque for 1500 people Four commercial buildings with a total of 48 units An asphalt-paved road network approximately 12.5 km (7.8 mi) long An adequate land space for the cultivation of indigenous plants and imported varieties Stage 1B (Completed)

232 condominium housing units 120 basic housing units 169 beach plots 56 standard plots 132 terraced houses 280 housing units 57 residential beach front plots 109 residential beach plots 56 residential standard plots 132 plots for terraced housing A public building with 32 public units 15 industrial and commercial land plots with an average of 1,000 m2 (11,000 sq ft) per unit Stage 1C (Completed)

1900 housing units Stage 2 (Completed)

2950 housing units Stage 3 (Completed)

3075 housing units Hulhumalé is underutilized relative to other central atolls in the Maldives. It would take the lead of the government to improve utilization by moving government ministries, government departments and public institutions to Hulhumalé and assisting public servants with relocation costs. Pending urban development, greenery landscaping would help make the place more attractive and convenient. On 15 January 2015 the second reclamation phase of Hulhumalé was launched, which will include the construction of a youth centre. The $50 million project was awarded to Dredging International NV, Belgium earlier this year.

Transport Hulhumalé's road network was planned together with the development of the island. Transport between Phase 1 and Phase 2 are through 4 bridges. Public transport became more convenient with the introduction of relatively inexpensive buses, that travel internally in Hulhumalé, and also to Velana International Airport and Malé. The island is connected via a causeway to the airport island Hulhulé Island, allowing easy road transport between the Velana International Airport and Hulhumalé. With the opening of the Sinamalé Bridge between Hulhulé and Malé Island in September 2018, the road networks of the three islands were connected for the first time. In April of 2026,MTCC Launches the first ever Full electric Taxi line Operated by The government.This Taxi line Now has 150 Taxis.

Gallery

References

External links HDC NPR Morning Edition story, 28 Jan 2008

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Hulhumalé

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Hulhumalé claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Hulhumalé before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Hulhumalé ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Hulhumalé

In research: Hulhumalé appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Hulhumalé in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Hulhumalé is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Artificial islands of the Maldives, Climate change adaptation, Islands of the Maldives, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Hulhumalé outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Hulhumalé in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Hulhumalé means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Hulhumalé out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hulhumalé in simple terms?

Why does Hulhumalé matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Hulhumalé?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Hulhumalé.