President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has spoken with the local media on Wednesday and shared key details of his administration’s housing policy. The government’s initial pledge was to develop a total of 10,000 housing units. According to President Solih, current housing requirements in the area exceed this figure by another 7,000 units.
President Solih announced that, while 1,000 housing units are currently in development, projects for an additional 4,000 units have been contracted so far—this would raise the total number of units under development to 5,000 by the end of the year. The government’s new housing policy centres on council housing, affordable housing, and mid-range and high-end housing categories.
The government plans to build over 15,000 housing units during its term—this includes the over 5,000 that would begin development this year. The President announced an additional 1,200 land plots for housing allocation from Gulhifalhu.
Responding to questions on addressing the housing needs of residents of Malé, President Solih announced that the government is currently planning a land reclamation project for the allocation of land plots. The government would disseminate further details of this project in due course, the President added.
Taking questions about the “Hiya” public housing scheme, President Solih commended the Committee Investigating Public Housing Schemes’ exemplary work. He said the government does not believe one-bedroom housing units are feasible, contrary to the categories announced by the previous administration, and that the flats developed in the future would feature two- and three-bedroom units.
Taking questions on a variety of other topics, President Solih went into the details of several other pertinent issues. He outlined his plans to resolve the problems concerning delayed services and corruption allegations related to the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation. He also expressed his strong commitment to uphold his administration’s policy on zero tolerance to corruption.