Government office complex in Hulhumalé to open in January

The Ministry of National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure has confirmed that it will inaugurate the government office complex in Hulhumalé on January 15, 2023.

The ministry’s State Minister Akram Kamaluddin said that the relocation process has been going on since December 2022.

Several government bodies are currently run in private establishments, which is costly for the government in terms of rent. The new government office in Hulhumalé is an effort to reduce government spending, initiated by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in 2019.

The government decided to develop the complex in Hulhumalé due to the scarcity of land in Malé. The Maldives government contracted China’s Hunan Engineering for the project for MVR 185 million in 2019. Each floor of the building spans 25,000 square feet, the ministry said.

A total of three different government ministries will be relocated to the new complex. These include:

- Second floor: Ministry of Gender, Family and Social Services

- Third floor: Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation

- Fourth floor: The American Embassy

- Fifth floor: Ministry of Higher Education

- Sixth floor: meeting rooms, seminar hall, and terrace

- Ground floor: parking

The availability of office spaces became challenging after Huravee Building was shut down due to its dilapidated state.