Rasmalé project to proceed under new model

Minister of Construction and Infrastructure Minister Dr. Abdulla Muththalib announced yesterday that the 'Rasmalé' reclamation project, initiated by the current administration to address the country's ongoing housing issues, will now be carried out under a new model after contractors failed to meet the agreed upon schedule.

The project was awarded to Capital Marine and Investment (CMC), where the company was to receive 70 hectares of land from Malé area, 60 hectares of land from Fushidhiggaru and 10 hectares of land from Hulhumalé for a duration of 99 years instead of monetary payments.

Although the project was awarded to CMC on 18th December 2023, to be completed with in eight months, it has not progressed for many days. According to the initial timeline, the project is to be completed within the next two months.

Speaking at a press conference held yesterday, Minister Muththalib revealed that the reason for this delay is due to CMC being unable to source the financing required to proceed with the project.

In light of this, the government is now exploring ways to restart the project, the minister said.

"The government is now working to work with different parties to be able to complete the reclamation by the end of this year. There have been many successes in this as well. [We] will announce the details once the practical work commences," he detailed.

The biggest challenge in proceeding with the project right now, Minister Muththalib said, is the rejection of the project's expenses in this year's budget by the former Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) majority held parliament. As such, the Ministry is unable to carryout the project directly under the Ministry, he explained.

"Since [the project] didn't go as planned, it is not possible to run the project under the ministry since it is not included in the budget. So we have to proceed with another financing model, [and] it is now in progress. The details will be shared soon," Minister Muthhalib said, adding that the goal is to complete the reclamation of all the land required for the Rasmalé project by the end of the year.

In a tweet sent out by the Minister after the press conference, he said that the reason for deciding to discontinue the project with CMC is because the government now wants to proceed with the project by arranging financing for it instead of giving away land in exchange.

Speaking further on the topic during the media briefing, he also shared information about the first 15,000 housing units being built under the Rasmalé project. He assured that the project, which has been awarded to a Chinese company, will build the housing units at a very fast pace and of high quality.

He also shared that the materials required for the project will be manufactured domestically, in a factory which will be established on the first area of land reclaimed for the Rasmalé project.

While the government reveals its new plans and explores alternative avenues to restart the project, critics expressed skepticism over the initial awarding process of the project to CMC, specifically the compensation being large portions of land.

These concerns were eventually escalated to Anti Corruption Commission (ACC), and are now being investigated by the authority.

Fushidhiggaru, part of the Rasmalé project, is one of the high priority reclamation areas under President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu's 'total solution' for housing. However, the government had to reconsider the payment model for lagoon's reclamation after the former MDP led parliament rejected the MVR 400 million allocated for the project.

CMC has run major reclamation projects in the country previously as well. This includes Hulhumalé Phase 3, Thilafushi Phase 4 and the reclamation of Dhiyaneru lagoon, revetment installment, as well as road and jetty development in there, during former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's administration.

As per the agreement for those projects, CMC would receive the entire 9.6 hectares to be reclaimed from Thilafushi and 10 hectares from Hulhumalé Phase 3.