Housing Minister Dr. Abdulla Muththalib has stated that efforts will be made to find new housing opportunities for people who have received Hiyaa flats to further expand their living conditions.
Speaking at a ceremony held tonight to mark the completion of installing additional lifts in the 16 towers of Hiyaa, Minister Muththalib stated that the situation of many families who moved into the two-bedroom Hiyaa flats has changed, with their children growing in number and they are wishing to move elsewhere.
However, the Minister noted that the opportunity to move elsewhere is not a very easy matter, and that priority must be given to people who have no housing at all over those who already have a place.
"However, government policy must be shaped to find ways for the residents living in these flats to bring their lives to another level as well," the Minister said.
The Minister stated that the government will work to resolve the difficulties faced by the residents living in Hiyaa flats and to find opportunities for a more spacious life. However, Muththalib said that it is difficult to provide details on that at this moment.
"The government will work to find a holistic solution to that," he said.
The Minister also stated that the Hiyaa towers are places where a very large number of people reside, and it is estimated that about 2,000 people live in each of those towers. Therefore, providing ease and conveniences to those residents is a high priority for the government, he said.
Although the government prioritized establishing adequate services for a large population, the Minister noted that there were challenges to this. In that regard, he stated that difficulties were faced in providing services due to things such as land being given from the "open spaces" designated for the Hiyaa area and the lack of additional land.
However, the Minister stated that a lot of work has been done over the past two years to ease the lives of the residents in the Hiyaa area, and the government will continue to do so in the future as well.
"The participation of everyone is important to make this area, and Phase 2, a place where citizens can live with happiness and contentment," the Minister said.
