The construction sector declined by 1.7 percent last year, as the government racks up millions of Rufiyaa in unpaid bills to private contractors for various government projects.
The decline comes as construction companies complain the delay in payments is pushing them towards bankruptcy.
According to the annual GDP report published by the National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday, the real GVA of the construction sector in 2024 was MVR 4.3 billion. This marks a decline of 1.7 percent or MVR 78 million compared to 2023.
The report shows that the construction sector was most active in 2018 and 2019, with MVR 6.9 billion in construction activity reported both years.
The decline in construction sector comes amid a rise in complaints from private contractors regarding a holdup in payments owed by the government for various projects.
Former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom estimates the government owes MVR 14 billion in payments to private contractors.
However, the government has neither denied this figure, and nor has it disclosed the actual figure.
Efforts to obtain this information through the Right to Information (RTI) Act have been unsuccessful.
Many private businesses, who depend on government contracts to stay afloat, report that the holdup in payments over the last three to four years have pushed them deep into debt, and on the brink of bankruptcy.
This comes as the Maldives struggles under the weight of staggering external debt obligations, which now stands at 134 percent of the country’s GDP.
The country has a USD 500 million debt repayment due in October, another USD 100 million in November, and a staggering USD 1.1 billion due in mid-2026.