While Maldives has become everyone’s favourite destination for a short vacation, the reality of climate change hovers over it like every biodiverse place in the world. Maldives has also been deeply affected by climate change, facing the threat of rising sea levels, and high sea temperatures. The archipelago, made up of 1,100 coral islands, is the lowest lying nation in the world, and worryingly, 80 per cent of the islands could become uninhabitable by 2050, according to some reports at the CoP 26, UN Climate Change Conference held in 2021.
In an effort to preserve the Maldives, the government of Maldives has joined hands with Developer Dutch Docklands and the architects of Waterstudio to create The Maldives Floating City. Using the latest in floating technology from the Netherlands, the floating city offers 5,000 housing units that are linked together and tethered to the floor of a 500-acre lagoon, designed to preserve and enhance its natural and cultural ecosystem. The design replicates the way in which real brain coral is organised. The idea of having a brain coral as the leading concept is to emphasise the goal of living with nature, and learning to improve and respect natural coral.
Photo Courtesy: Maldives Floating City
Located just 15 minutes away from the Male International airport (via a boat ride) the Maldives Floating City is a development of Dutch Docklands in joint-venture with the Government of Maldives, and residents are expected to move into the Maldives floating city by early 2024. Each city will accommodate 10,000 people with the potential to expand to up to 100,000.
Photo Courtesy: Maldives Floating City
The city has a nature-based structure of roads and water canals, and is based on an integrated tourism model, which includes residential plots, hotels, houses, shops and restaurants. It will be a car-free zone, to be navigated via the canals and the natural white-sand roads–on foot or on bicycles and electric, noise-free buggies and scooters. The Maldives Floating City is a dynamic, flexible city with a smart grid that can respond to dynamic demand, weather and climate change.
A first block of floating homes is under construction by BISON and is due to be transported to the Lagoon and opened in August. This will enable the public to visit and see first-hand what the homes will look like.
Photo Courtesy: Maldives Floating City
*Foreign buyers of a house in Maldives Floating City can apply for a Residence Permit in the Maldives. To express your interest in buying click here.
* Average prices at the Maldives Floating city start at $150,000 for a studio or $250,000 for a family home.
