The government has secured sufficient land to build 10,700 housing units in the Male' area, Housing Minister Dr Abdulla Muththalib said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a press conference, Muththalib said construction has already begun on 3,260 flats in the capital region.

He said financing has been arranged for several components of the housing programme, including 540 units funded by the Bank of Maldives (BML), 500 units through an interest-free loan, and 400 flats supported by Saudi funding.

Arrangements have also been finalized for a 4,000 unit housing project in Gulhifalhu under a line of credit, he added.

In addition, a separate scheme to develop 2,000 flats using free land and investment incentives is being prepared, with local companies having submitted bids. The project has been signed off and submitted to the Economic Council, he said.

Another 1,000 housing units are also under discussion, the Minister added.

Minister Muththalib said the combined pipeline brings total planned housing to 10,700 units. He noted that earlier projections of up to 12,000 or even 17,000 units had been revised following updated height restrictions.

He said the Civil Aviation Authority has limited building heights in Hulhumale' Phase 3 to 14 storeys due to its proximity to the airport flight path, replacing earlier plans for 17-storey developments.

“We haven’t really got land for the ministry to build more than 10,700 units,” he said.

He added that discussions are ongoing with the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) to identify additional land suitable for housing development in Male'.

Minister Muththalib also said around 37,000 applications have been submitted so far under the government’s first housing scheme, with the deadline for submissions set for 31 May.