Hajj Corporation to develop a MVR 63 million building

Maldives Hajj Corporation has awarded MedTech company MVR 63 million to build them an office building in Hulhumalé.

Managing Director of Hajj Corporation Ismail Hameed said when applications for this project was opened up on two different occasions, only MedTech had applied on both times.

MedTech imports and sells medical equipment while also operating laboratories and clinics in the Maldives.

Hameed said MeTtech was awarded the project on a contract financing basis to be completed in two years. As per the agreement signed by the Haj Corporation with Medtech, the project cost has to be paid within six years of completion of the work.

“We got a technical evaluation done by a foreign company. Since our company was formed we have sent people for Hajj on seven different occasions, and not made a profit even once. We send people for Hajj at a price lower than the market rate,” he said.

He said that pilgrims are already being sent at subsidised rates and they should invest from the Hajj Fund to solve this issue. He said their company policies allow for investments to be made from the fund and they have done similar investments in the past as well.

Last year, the Hajj Corporation acquired a 5,000 square feet plot of land in Hulhumalé Central Park area. The exact value of the land was not disclosed. Hameed said that the payment for the land would be made to Urbanco over a span of three years.

He said that the company has operated for the past 10 years by investing the funds deposited in the fund in Islamic instruments, T-bills, and investment accounts. This approach allows the company to generate approximately MVR 7 million per year. With the introduction of the new building, the company is projected to generate MVR 12 million annually from the building alone, he added.

“We forecast that we will get about MVR 12 million as rent from that building in one year,” Hameed said.

He said the corporation will use only two floors of the new building and they will rent out the rest. As their income increases, they can reduce the cost of a Hajj pilgrimage as well, they said.

Last year, the Hajj Corporation earned MVR 50 million in revenue. Despite this, the company has not made a profit. The corporation had reported a loss of MVR 39 million last year.