Walking on Water

THE MALDIVES BUILD 'A FLOATING CITY' TO COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE

Modelled on the structure of coral reefs, and powered by green energy, a Dutch firm is working with the Maldives government to create a 500 acre floating city to help fortify the nation against the impending climate and environment crisis and the rise in sea levels that could see the islands (now only 1.5 metres above sea level) totally submerged. Residents will not only be 'walking on water' but according to a Dutch Docklands press release, the 'first-of-its-kind island city' will offer 'a revolutionary approach to modern sustainable living perched against a backdrop of the azure Indian Ocean... a futuristic dreamscape finally poised to become reality.'

Plans for the project, which is over 10 years in the making, have been revealed by Netherlands based 'Dutch Docklands' and the Maldives Government and building is due to begin in September 2021. Brain Coral plays a crucial role in the design and construction which is planned to drift on a lagoon just a 10 minute boat ride from the capital of Mahe. The 'city' itself is composed of hexagon-shaped segments modeled on the geometry of local coral, surrounded by larger islands and submerged and protected coral reefs which will provide natural wave breaks, whilst artificial coral banks will be attached to the underside of the city to stimulate new coral to grow naturally.

"This Maldives Floating City does not require any land reclamation, therefore has a minimal impact on the coral reefs," explains Mohamed Nasheed, President of the Maldives from 2008- 2012, who initiated the project having attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in 2009 where he learnt how "People could live on water or with water, without disrupting the environment...What's more, giant, new reefs will be grown to act as water breakers. Our adaption to climate change mustn't destroy nature but work with it, as the Maldives Floating City proposes. In the Maldives we cannot stop the waves, but we can rise with them."

A renewable energy grid will power the city, and prices for homes are said to be set to accommodate all income brackets. For more information visit the Maldives Floating City website HERE.