Male' residents to be able to apply to 15,000 Rasmale' plots

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has stated today it has been decided that Male' residents who are Maldivians will be able to apply for 15,000 plots in Rasmale', with the opportunity to apply being opened in the near future.

During the 57th Republic Day Function held at the Social Center this morning, President Muizzu said that various projects will be announced in order to fulfill his pledge in solving the housing issue in Male'.

Housing is the biggest pledge of the current government.

"This will be aimed at those who are over 18 years of age who do not have housing, with a system where those who are in need the most receive housing being utilized under a familial housing concept as I have pledged," said President Muizzu.

The President said that the 15,000 plots will be given from Rasmale' that is currently being reclaimed, with the land that is needed for the housing project being reclaimed within the next five months.

"The 15,000 plots will be given to residents of Male', people who have been living in Male' for a long time, those who are in Male' registry and those who want to exchange plots," said President Muizzu.

"As land reclamation is ongoing, we will open the application window in the near future with an announcement being made that includes the details."

The President said that the speed at which Rasmale' is being reclaimed will triple next month. He attributes this to payments being made for dredgers to be brought in, with the dredgers arriving next month.

President Muizzu said that reclamation for the rest of Hulhumale' Phase 3, in order to provide housing for Male' residents, started yesterday. He continued by saying that an agreement has been signed yesterday regarding the reclamation of the remainder of Giraavaru Falhu, and that the dredgers required for the project will arrive next month.

The President said that the land reclamation of North Thilafushi will resume before the end of the year. 

Along with giving away plots, flat construction projects will also move forward, said President Muizzu.

Without going into too much detail, President Muizzu said that an agreement to build 3,000 flats will be signed before the end of the year, along with the start of other housing projects with international aid.

"4,000 housing units have been arranged with India's line of credit. There is ongoing work surrounding that," said President Muizzu.

"Work on more than 7,000 housing units will begin next year."

The project to build an additional 4,000 flats with India's Exim Bank's line of credit was revealed in August 2024.

The Indian government had given a USD 878 million (MVR 13.5 billion) line of credit for Maldives to begin development projects. As the current government has stated in the past, the project to build the additional 4,000 flats will be funded with that line of credit. Under that facility, 4,000 flats in Hulhumale' have been built. As those flats finished being constructed, people started moving into them last month.

During Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi's diplomatic visit to Maldives in July, he had arranged a USD 565 million (MVR 8.6 billion MVR) line of credit facility for Maldives. The facility will be spent on projects in industries such as defense, sports, health and education, as was said by the government.