Efforts to award contracts for the development of 1,000 new housing units to local firms will be finalised this week, the Ministry of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development announced, as part of a broader government push to resolve the country’s ongoing housing crisis through projects spanning various developmental stages.
The initiative will be distributed equally among five entirely domestically owned companies, with each firm responsible for constructing 200 units, Ahmed Nazim Mohamed, the State Minister for Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development, said during an appearance on the PSM News programme ‘Raajje Miadhu’. Within the allotment of each contractor, the portfolio will consist of 60 two-bedroom apartments and 140 three-bedroom apartments, State Minister Nazim detailed.
These residences will offer more expansive floor plans than any social housing units previously developed within the country, State Minister Nazim noted, explaining that two-bedroom apartments will measure 700 square feet, while three-bedroom units will exceed 950 square feet. Both the interior finishing and the exterior communal spaces will feature notable improvements over past developments, he added, stating that construction is situated in Phase II of the Hulhumalé development zone.
This effort represents just one component of a national housing strategy, which includes projects progressing across both the greater Malé region and the outer atolls, according to the housing ministry. In Phase I of Hulhumalé, three land plots have already been awarded to local corporations, alongside an additional plot allocated to a domestic firm in Villimalé. Two Chinese firms have been granted land rights in Hulhumalé Phase II, where practical construction is slated to begin as soon as the design phase concludes and the necessary permits are secured, the ministry stated.