Male' City Mayor Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has said the City Council is working on adopting a Developer Finance model to construct housing units in Male' City.
The City Council has decided to construct 2000 housing units in Male' and 500 units in Villimale' to address the housing needs in the capital city. While the City Council has applied to register a company for the purpose, the government has not issued a license thus far.
While the City Council is not receiving cooperation from the government for the project, AVAS asked the Mayor what the Council's Plan B was in proceeding with the project.
In his response, the Mayor said the Council plans to move forward with a Developer Finance model by seeking investors and that efforts are already ongoing to facilitate the arrangements. The City Council is already seeking investors for some plots, he said.
In his annual address at the Parliament, the President had said the construction of 7,000 housing units for Male' City registered residents is ongoing. He said 5,000 land plots would be issued to Male' residents before the end of the term.
When asked if the Mayor believed the work of 7,000 housing units is in progress, the Mayor said the government gives different figures at different times for the number of housing units being constructed. Therefore, he has no information regarding the actual numbers, he said.
'They state different numbers at different times, so it is not clear to me how many housing units are being constructed under the project. The three annual addresses delivered over these years mentioned three different figures,' the Mayor said.
The Mayor added that he heard that the government would be issuing 1,000 plots to Male' registered residents from reclaimed suburbs Hulhumle'. However, he said no communication on the matter had taken place between the government and the City Council.
The Mayor further reiterated that land must be issued to Male' residents at no cost. He said the Council's biggest hope is to see the needs of those struggling with housing being met.
AVAS asked the Mayor if the current pace of the government would allow the completion of housing units and issuance of land plots. The Mayor said the Council believes that if President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih pledged to fulfill a goal, he would not announce the project without facilitating the means to achieve it.
'.. It is also our hope that President Solih successfully fulfills his pledges before the end of the term,' he said.
