Housing Minister Mohamed Aslam has stated that the size of the 1,200 land plots issued from reclaimed lagoon, GulhiFalhu will be small in size.
Answering reporters' questions at a press conference held at the President's Office on Wednesday, Minister Aslam said the land area of the plots issued from Gulhifalhu would be 600 sqft. Noting that Gulhifalhu is a venue to develop a commercial harbor, land will only be issued to Male' citizens, said Aslam.
Aslam said over 170,000 people living in Male' City are in need of housing, out of which 33 percent are from Male'. Therefore, priority will be given to those from Male', said Aslam. Noting that the remaining 67 percent of people are those who have migrated to Male' from other islands, Aslam said although the government is choosing to prioritize Male' citizens at this time, it does not mean the government would ignore the plights of islanders.
The minister did not shed light on when the plots of land will be issued from Gulhifalhu.
Aslam further noted that the government is carrying out several other housing projects. In this regard, construction of 5,000 housing units have been announced, out of which construction of 1,000 units are underway. The detailed designing of the remaining 4,000 units have been contracted to two Indian companies, said Aslam. An additional 1,344 units are also being constructed, and will reach completion next year, said Aslam.
