The Ministry of Construction stated today that the Male' City Council has failed to terminate the agreement made with a private company to construct a fish market on the land where the local market is located, despite the company itself requesting the council to do so.
In a press release issued by the Ministry, it stated that despite repeatedly requesting the City Council to hand over the land for the "wet market" project that this government intends to carry out on the local market land, the council sent a letter on the 20th of last month stating that the land could not be handed over.
The Ministry noted that the reason given by the City Council for not being able to hand over the land was because the development of the fish market area had been assigned under an agreement made between the council and Hairu Engineering Consultancy Private Limited on March 9, 2023, and the council stated that the land could only be handed over after that agreement is terminated.
"According to the information received by this Ministry, Hairu Engineering company has sent a letter to the council to terminate the agreement without any compensation. However, up until today, the council has not carried out the work to dissolve that agreement," the Ministry's statement said.
According to the Ministry, the government is proceeding with the "Wet Market Complex" project according to the plan and design formulated by the Male' City Council. The Ministry of Infrastructure stated that this is because the government believes it is its duty to find a solution to the difficulties faced by the public since the council had left the project at a standstill without doing anything to move it forward.
The Ministry also stated that since the company to which the Male' City Council had assigned the project has not carried out any practical work other than constructing temporary stalls, it does not believe there is any obstacle to terminating the project's agreement, and even if the agreement is not terminated, it does not believe there is any barrier to handing over the land to the government.
The Ministry stated that although the administrative matters and financing for this project have been settled and the contractor is fully prepared to begin practical work, the sole reason this work being delayed and unable to start is because the land designated for running the project has not been emptied and handed over to the Ministry.
The project to build a modern new market or a "Wet Market Complex" on the local market land, where all of Male's markets will be relocated to one place, was assigned to Trustend Maldives Private Limited under a contractor finance model on the 15th of last March. The building will consist of five floors.
Responding to a question from "Mihaaru" in the second episode of "The Pulse" podcast brought by the President's Office last Thursday, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu also stated that the work on the market is delayed and unable to start because the Male' City Council is obstructing it.
The President stated that it has now been four months since a party was found to construct the building and the necessary funds were arranged through the Bank of Maldives (BML), and all the work required from the government's side to start the project has been completed. However, he stated that the work is delayed and cannot begin because the Male' City Council has not handed over the designated land to the state.
