Sri Lanka’s TWC facilitates climate adaptation initiatives for Maldives’ Tourism
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Mr. Thilan Wijesinghe
The Advisory arm of TWC Holdings (formerly TWCorp), a company founded in 2012 by Thilan Wijesinghe, has emerged as a transformative partner in adapting tourism development to meet the impacts of climate change in the Maldives. Recently, the Maldives Fund Management Corporation (MFMC) was advised by Mr. Wijesinghe, a specialist in Public Private Partnerships, to craft a comprehensive Request for Proposals (RFP) to identify an international firm of architects and master planners to design a “Climate Adaptive Vision Masterplan” for Gaafaru, an inhabited island of Kaafu Atoll.
Upon evaluation of the proposals received, Foster + Partners, the world-renowned architectural firm in London founded by Norman Foster, was selected by MFMC. Through a comprehensive study of Gaafaru, Fosters’ sustainability team and in-house ecologists have proposed a master plan built on six [06] key principles to ensure highly sustainable, climate-adaptive and inclusive development anchored on tourism, TWC said in a media release
Speaking on the initiative, Chairman & Managing Director, TWC Holdings, Thilan Wijesinghe, stated: “The Gaafaru project is a transformative step for the Maldives, showcasing how climate-adaptive planning can ensure sustainable growth in tourism while protecting fragile ecosystems. This initiative serves as a model for other small island nations, demonstrating the power of forward-thinking strategies to drive resilience and economic opportunity in the face of climate change.”
The master plan is based on environmental analysis and understanding rising sea levels over the next century. The land will be sustainably reclaimed – using low-impact building techniques – and built at a higher level to decrease the risk of sea-level rise over one hundred years. Reclaimed land area will be reduced by 45 per cent (from business-as-usual building methods in the Maldives), and 70 per cent of reclaimed land will be given over to marine and terrestrial habitats for native planting. The master plan for this integrated tourism project – which consists of private islands, two ultra-luxury resorts, tourist guesthouses in the inhabited island – aims to diversify economic opportunities in the Maldives.
TWC also serves as a subcontractor for USAID’s 5-year climate adaptation programme in the Maldives and Sri Lanka. As a part of this work, TWC facilitated a partnership between Fosters + Partners and the Maldivian NGO, Small Island Geography Society (SIGS) – a USAID grant recipient, to support university and architecture students in adopting climate-adaptive design principles for tourism guest houses in inhabited islands.
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