Ministry of Construction, Housing and Infrastructure has entered an agreement with Bank of Maldives for the issuance of Hiyaavehi financing scheme loans, which will facilitate issuing loans at low interest rates to develop housing.

The agreement was signed at a special ceremony held this morning at the Housing Ministry.

The agreement was signed by Housing Minister Dr Abdulla Muththalib and BML CEO Mohamed Shareef.

Speaking at the ceremony, Minister Muththalib said that applications are now being reviewed to see if they fit the eligibility criteria. After this, the forms will be sent to BML for evaluation and loan issuance.

He said that banks will begin evaluating the forms within the next month.

In addition to BML, the government has also decided to issue the loans through Maldives Islamic Bank and Housing Development Financing Corporation.

Muththalib further announced that based on the experience of issuing this loan, the government has plans to offer the loan for a second round next year.

"No scheme may be executed perfectly. Hence, after resolving issues faced at this stage, we will hopefully open up for a second round early in 2026," he said.

BML CEO Shareef said that these loans will be issued under Islamic Financing policies, at the lowest rate in Maldives.

Shareef said that under the agreement, the bank will complete evaluation of forms and return them to the ministry within two weeks. He said that the bank aims to commence issuing loans within July.

Muththalib said that if all applicants meet the eligibility criteria, a total of MVR 4 to 5 billion will be issued in loans.