Macro analysis

Figure 1.2.1H

KEY POINT

0

Hulhumalé, an illustration by the Hulhumalé group, drawn over the HDC land use plan.

OVERVIEW

Hulhumalé is a reclaimed island in North Malé Atoll, just north of the airport island, Hulhulé.

The Sinamalé Bridge and a road across the airport link it to Malé, and public ferries run between the two.

Reclamation began in 1997. The island was planned from the start, to ease crowding and the housing shortage in Malé.

Hulhumalé was planned and built from nothing, and it is still growing.

island aerial or figure-ground map, with north arrow and scale bar

FIGURE 1

It takes in people from Malé and the outer atolls. It offers homes, shops, light industry, schools, hospitals and guesthouses.

The three islands share the work. Malé is the dense old capital and the seat of government. Hulhulé holds the airport. Hulhumalé is the planned extension, for homes, business and green space.

LAND AREA (HA)

497 ha

DENSITY (PEOPLE PER HA)

262 per ha (2026)

DISTANCE FROM MALÉ

4.15 km

DOMINANT LAND USE

Residential (45.7% of the land)

Table 1.2.1H

LOCATION AND ROLE IN THE REGION

Figure 1.2.2H

Sources

Hulhumalé at a glance. Population and households: HDC, 2026. The 2022 census counted 65,714 residents (132 per ha).

Giraavaru

Thilafushi

Hulhumalé in the Greater Malé Region.

HDC (hdc.mv); Google Maps.

Malé

Gulhifalhu

Villimalé

POPULATION (YEAR)

130,197 (2026)

HOUSEHOLDS

35,088

ROLE IN THE REGION

Malé’s planned extension

MAIN ACCESS

Bridge and ferry

Hulhumalé

Velana International Airport

The Sinamalé Bridge and ferries link Hulhumalé to Malé. Hulhumalé gives the capital homes, hospitals and industry, and depends on Malé for government, business and finance.

HULHUMALÉ

Housing

Employment

Leisure

Historical timeline

Figure 1.3.1H

1995

Plans began to answer Malé’s growing population and housing shortage.

Hulhumalé’s history, from the first plans in 1995 to 2026. Compiled by the Hulhumalé group from Wikipedia.

1997

Reclamation began for a new, planned town.

2002

Phase 1 reclamation was complete: the ground Hulhumalé is built on.

2004

Hulhumalé

opened, and

the first residents

moved in.

2005

The Hulhumalé Development Corporation was set up to guide the island’s growth.

2015

Phase 2 reclamation was complete, adding 244 ha and roughly doubling the island.

2019

Fast building in Phase 2 after the Sinamalé Bridge opened in 2018: the Hiyaa flats (7,000 homes), roads and public buildings.

2026

Phase 3 is planned and under way.

Spatial history and landmarks

2002

P/HA

LAND AREA

188

POPULATION

1,000+

Phase 1, first reclamation (2002)

Phase 1, rest of the reclamation (2008)

Phase 1 complete (2015)

Central Park

First flats (2004)

2008

P/HA

LAND AREA

188

POPULATION

5,000+

Phase 2, building began (2015) Phase 3, first area

Phase 3 extension (2026)

Masjid al Sheikh Qasim bin Al-Thani First BBQ area

2017

P/HA

LAND AREA

432

POPULATION

30,000+

2026

P/HA

LAND AREA

497

POPULATION

130,197

Figure 1.3.2H

How Hulhumalé grew,

phase by phase, and its first landmarks. People per hectare: the group’s figures; 2026 as on page 65.

Significant landmarks

Central Park is part of daily life in Hulhumalé. People come to walk, exercise, meet friends and sit with family, and the park holds community events.

Masjid al Sheikh Qasim bin Al-Thani was Hulhumalé’s first mosque, and for a time its only one. Its dome made it an early landmark, and many residents still feel close to it.

Figures 1.3.3H to 1.3.6HFour significant landmarks. Illustrations by the

Hulhumalé group.

The first flats were home to about 1,000 people, one of the island’s earliest communities. With so few people, life was quiet and close-knit, and neighbours soon knew each other.

The first BBQ area became one of Hulhumalé’s main gathering places. Families and friends came from Malé to cook, relax and spend time together, and early residents still remember it.

Folk story: The Kandholhudhoo families

Figure 1.3.7H

Folk story: the Kandholhudhoo families. Comic by the Hulhumalé group.

Hulhumalé was still new then. Only a

few people lived

there!

After the tsunami took

their homes, people from Kandholhudhoo came to

Hulhumalé for shelter.

Folk story: The spirits of the reef

Before Hulhumalé, there

was a beautiful reef. It was already home to

others.

Years later, many people came and

Hulhumalé grew.

Figure 1.3.8H

Folk story: the spirits of the reef. Comic by the Hulhumalé group.

THEY TOOK

OUR HOME! I’LL DESTROY THEIRS!

The spirits began to

haunt people near the

beach. People saw

strange things, and

some were possessed.

DID YOU

SEE THAT?

With every corner of

Hulhumalé lit up, the ghosts

had nowhere to hide. One by

one, they left.

When Hulhumalé was

reclaimed over the

reef, their home was

destroyed.

I FEEL

STRANGE!

Environment map

Figure 1.4.1H

South-west wind

Waves from W/SW

Waves from the south

Shallow water High-current area Calm waves

Environment map of Hulhumalé: winds, waves, currents, shallow water and vegetation. Source: HDC; Google Maps.

Waves from N/NE

High current Waves Vegetation

North

North-east wind

Current direction Revetment Coral farming

Risk map

Figure 1.4.2H

We mapped where each risk has been recorded: fires and fuel stations, rainwater flooding, swell surges, drainage, waste and strong wind.

Recorded fire incidents

Risk map of Hulhumalé: where each risk has been recorded. Source: HDC; Google Maps.

Recorded rainwater flooding

Recorded drainage areas

Fuel stations and other fire risks

Recorded poor waste management

Recorded swell surges

Recorded high wind turbulence

Population pyramid

75+

70–74

65–69

60–64

2050 projection

55–59

50–54

45–49

40–44

35–39

30–34

25–29

20–24

15–19

10–14

5–9

0–4

8400

7200

Maldivian women, 2026

2004 profile

The 2022 census counted 65,714 residents in Hulhumalé, plus 12,585 expatriates: about one for every five residents. Most expatriates are working- age men, employed in building and services.

TOTAL GROWTH

Figure 1.5.1H

Population by age and sex, 2026, with the 2004 profile and the 2050

projection. Growth 2004 to 2022. Source: HDC; Census 2022, Maldives Bureau of Statistics.

2004 profile

3600

6000

4800

Maldivian men, 2026

2004 profile

YEARLY GROWTH

2400

1200

Foreign men, 2026

2050 projection

Growth is expected to stay above 5% a year as new roads and homes are built. The HDC plans for 100,000 residents in Phase 1 and 250,000 in Phase 2.

0

1200

2400

Foreign women, 2026

2050 projection

Locals

Male

Female

2050 projection

2004 profile

3600

4800

Expats

Male

Female

Population growth

Number of households vs population

140,000

120,000

100,000

Figures 1.5.2Hand 1.5.3H

Source: HDC; Census 2022, Maldives Bureau of Statistics.

Male

84,000

72,000

60,000

48,000

36,000

24,000

12,000

0

2004

PROJECTED, 2050

80,000

60,000

40,000

20,000

0

2004

2006

Households

Population growth, 2004 to 2050 (projected), and households against population.

Female

2006

2014

DENSITY INCREASE

+64.7%

2014

2022

Population

Expats

2022

Year

Hulhumalé opened on 12 May 2004 with about 1,000 residents. After the Sinamalé Bridge and the Hiyaa flats, it had 78,299 people in 2022: 65,714 residents and 12,585 expatriates. Growth is expected to stay strong, with the Thilamalé bridge and building in all three phases. At full build-out, the plan houses about 349,094 people by 2050.

2026

2045

2035

2050

Land use plan

Figure 1.6.1H

of available land (227.13 ha)

Existing Utility

of available land (26.44 ha)

Land use plan of Hulhumalé, with each use’s share of the land. Source: HDC land use plan.

of available land (21.52 ha)

of available land (3.73 ha)

of available land (34.54 ha)

Existing Commercial

of available land (21.67 ha)

of available land (3.92 ha)

of available land (2.83 ha)

Highest land use

Residential

Industrial

Hotel

Homes take up most of Hulhumalé’s land: 45.7% is residential. Open and green space comes next, at 6.95%.

Figures 1.6.2Hand 1.6.3H

Number of facilities

Share of land by use

of the land

5.32%

of the land

Open and green space

Transport

Knowledge park

Share of land by use, and the number of facilities by type. Source: HDC land use plan.

MUNICIPAL / UTILITY

Religious

Sports and recreation

Mixed use

Utilities take 5.32% and shops and offices 4.36%. Together, these four uses cover 62.33% of the land.

of the land

4.36%

COMMERCIAL USE

of the land

Educational

Municipal and utility

Port

Commercial

Office

Proposed land use

Solid and void

Figure 1.6.4H

Fine grain

The first settlement, from 2004, is fine-grained: small, separate buildings with generous open space between them, in a low pattern.

Solid and void, with fine and coarse grain shown in detail. Source: HDC; Google Maps.

The Hiyaa towers are coarse-grained: large, tall blocks set close together, with open space laid out around them. They mark Hulhumalé’s shift to compact, high-rise living.

Coarse grain

Building heights

Figure 1.6.5H

Low-rise

Early Hulhumalé housing is low-rise and human in scale: fewer people, wider open spaces and smaller communities.

Building heights, in storeys, with a low-rise and a high-rise example. Heights from a Grasshopper script run on a 3D model of Hulhumalé.

Later housing is high-rise, using height to house a fast-growing population.

High-rise

1 to 4 storeys 5 to 8 storeys

9 to 13 storeys

14 to 19 storeys

25 storeys

Population density

nse a

e ar

e are

450

PEOPLE / HA

Figure 1.6.6H

Less dense area

1

Around Central Park: private plots and some social flats. One of the first areas settled, it is open and low-rise.

area

ea

4,400

PLOT SIZE (SQ FT)

Population density of Hulhumalé, with two sample areas (the group’s figures). Source: HDC; Google Maps.

1

4

STOREYS

Dense area

2

Tower blocks built to ease the Greater Malé housing shortage, with parks beside the towers and small pocket parks.

2,188

PEOPLE / HA

Low

17,200

PLOT SIZE (SQ FT)

High

25

STOREYS

Walkability

Figure 1.6.7H

Mosque

Open and green spaces

E

Phase 1 walkability

Phase 1 has a close network of civic buildings, schools and shops on a human-scale grid. The hospitals, Centro Mall, Central Park, the mosque and the ferry terminal each sit within a 400 m circle: a five-minute walk.

Walkability: five-minute walks (400 m) around daily needs, Phase 1 and Phase 2. Source: HDC; Google Maps.

Schools

Cafés and restaurants

Hospitals and clinics

Ferry terminal and jetty

Phase 2 walkability

In Phase 2, the 400 m circles show how far schools, preschools and the police station reach on foot. Set side by side, the two phases show where homes fall outside a five-minute walk.

Police

400 m radius (five-minute walk)

Road hierarchy and circulation

Figure 1.7.1H

The map shows Hulhumalé’s roads by width: main roads of 16 to 21 m, streets of 11 to 15 m and lanes of 5 to 10 m. It also shows the bus route, its stops and the main paths for people on foot.

16 to 21 m

Road hierarchy and circulation in Hulhumalé. Source: HDC; Google Maps.

11 to 15 m

5 to 10 m

Bus route

Pedestrian

Bus stops

Types of roads

Number of vehicles

Figure 1.7.3H

Nirolhu Magu (11 to 15 m)

pav

vl prk

Nirolhu Magu (16 to 21 m)

Pavement

Parking

Other

Vehicles in Hulhumalé, by type (the group’s figures).

Pavement

Vehicle lanes

This narrower street is 11 to 15 m wide. Shaded pavements (pav) run on both sides, buffered by trees. One traffic lane (vl) runs down the middle, with parking (prk) for cars and motorbikes on either side. It keeps traffic slow.

This wider street is 16 to 21 m. Wide pavements on both sides sit behind planted strips with trees. Two traffic lanes run between parking bays, carrying cars, motorbikes and many people on foot.

Figure 1.7.2H

vehicle lane, prk parking.

Buses

Two types of road, in section. pav pavement, vl

Cars

Motorbikes

Pedestrian circulation issues and obstacles

2

Building work is everywhere as the city grows. Sites often block pavements, pushing people around barriers and onto narrow, uncomfortable paths.

1

Hulhumalé’s roads are built for vehicles: wide streets, busy with cars and motorbikes. Drivers come first, and people on foot can feel unsafe at junctions and along busy roads.

3

Many routes have little continuous shade from trees, canopies or buildings. In the hot, humid climate, walking at midday is hard on the body.

4

Bins, parked motorbikes and other things on the pavement narrow the walking path. They create bottlenecks that force people to step around them.

6

Parks, beaches, homes and shops are not always joined by a continuous path. Roads, car parks and buildings break the route between them.

Figures 1.7.4H to 1.7.9HSix obstacles to walking in Hulhumalé. Illustrations by the Hulhumalé group.

5

Large blocks, and separate zones for homes, shops, sport, beaches and community buildings, make walks long. In the heat, with little shade, longer walks are less inviting.

Open space map

Figure 1.8.1H

Vegetated open spaces

Central Park

Open space map of Hulhumalé. Source: HDC; Google Maps.

Recreational open spaces

Beach area

Running track

Major activity nodes

Parks

BBQ area

Visuals of notable spaces

Figures 1.8.2H to 1.8.5HFour notable open spaces: Central Park, the beach, the running track and the BBQ area. Illustrations by the Hulhumalé group.

Open space per person

Figure 1.8.6H

Open space per person, 2026 and 2050 (worst case, projected). Source: HDC.

Hulhumalé has about 2.7 m² of public open space per person today (2026). The plan adds more, but the population grows faster: from 130,197 to about 349,094 by 2050. In the worst case, that leaves about 2.5 m² each, against a guide of 9 m² (Kuchelmeister, 1998).