President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu stated today that the project decided to be carried out by UAE's Eagle Hills in RasMalé is a project that will benefit Maldivians in many ways and will be operated with full control held by the Maldivian government.

Responding for the first time to various allegations made by opposition parties regarding the RasMalé project, President Muizzu stated on the President's Office's "The Pulse" podcast that those parties are attempting to achieve a political objective by deliberately distorting the truth while knowing the reality of this massive project.

The President stated that by the time people begin residing in land plots and flats provided to the public from RasMale', that location must become a place where rapid development arrives. The President stated that deciding to carry out a major investment by Eagle Hills in one part of RasMale' was to achieve that development.

The President stated that reclaiming Hulhumalé and for people to settle and develop there took many years, but those locations still lack proper investments and "full factors."

The President stated that for businesses to barely develop in Hulhumalé and for people to start living there occurred alongside the progress brought to the region's economy with the Sinamalé Bridge. Before building the bridge, Hulhumalé was a place that existed "merely to sleep and come to Malé," and the President stated that even now, thousands of people living in Hulhumalé have to live in such a manner.

"That is not how the government should deliver things to the citizens. Development must be secured for citizens much more planned and at a much faster speed. Especially, housing must be provided," the President said.

"Therefore, the way people can live in the land plots and flats received by citizens from RasMalé will be by achieving the development of the entire place within a short period of time. By making it possible to go to employment. And by arranging other matters there. Therefore, to facilitate that, this project [Eagle Hills] was decided by us to be carried out in one part of RasMale."

The President stated that properties constructed in RasMalé under the Eagle Hills project will be given to buyers for 99 years, and upon the expiration of that period, that party will have to sell that property back to the Maldivian state.

"If the state then sells it to another party, it will sell it. Full control and authority will belong to the Maldivian state, the Maldivian government. Therefore, this is not something that automatically renews and grants another 99 years," the President said.

The President also stated that ownership of those properties cannot be sold to another person without the government's knowledge.

The President stated that islands in the Maldives are currently given for 99 years to operate resorts, and upon expiration of that period, if the state wishes according to the agreement, the property can be taken by the state by paying the expenditure incurred, or the option to extend the period also exists. The President stated that the RasMalé project is also being conducted in that manner.

The President stated that citizens of a single country will be able to purchase at most 25 percent of the properties constructed by Eagle Hills in Ras Malé. The President stated that a bill will be sent to the Parliament very soon to make a law related to real estate, and those matters will be specified in great detail in that law.

It has been decided to allocate 500 hectares of land in RasMalé, developed by reclaiming Fushidhiggaru Falhu, to Eagle Hills to conduct a Waterfront and Marina project. The Maldivian government estimates that under the agreement made with Eagle Hills, even before physical work on the project commences, 5,000 housing units (approximately USD 500 million or MVR 7.7 billion) will be received by the state in advance.

The government has stated that all money received from selling properties of this project will be deposited into a government-controlled escrow account located in the Maldives, providing a major solution to the dollar shortage facing the Maldives and making it much easier for the central bank to strengthen official reserves.

The government also stated that no duty concessions or tax relief given under the SEZ Act or Tourism Act were granted in the agreement, noting that this is an important decision made to ensure full receipt of TGST and other taxes due to the state.