Finance Ministry’s statistics show that the 91 percent allocated in this year’s state budget for housing has been untouched despite the budget being hailed by the government as a “housing-centric” budget.
President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, who served as the Housing Minister for seven years, specialized this year’s state budget for housing. One of his biggest electoral pledges is to provide housing for everyone above 18 years of age within his five-year term.
Over MVR 3 billion was allocated for housing in this year’s state budget, a record amount. MVR 1.8 billion out of MVR 12 billion allocated for PSIP projects was also allocated for housing. Back then, the government said housing projects will proceed across the nation.
While the year nears an end, majority of the budget remains untouched.
According to government revenue and expenditure statistics released by the Finance Ministry as of October 16th, only MVR 164 million has been spent on housing projects so far this year — a sharp decrease from MVR 410 million spent during the same period last year.
Hence, the “record” budget for housing remains largely untouched. In this regard, MVR 1.8 billion accounts for just nine percent of the total budget allocated for housing, making 91 percent of the budget.
Notably, lack of housing is one of the biggest issues faced nationwide.
President Muizzu, a civil engineer, previously served as housing minister from 2012 to 2018, making him the longest-serving housing minister in Maldivian history. During his presidential campaign, he promised to resolve the country’s housing crisis by the end of his term.
Speaking during a ceremony held on the day of budget presentation – President Muizzu hailed 2025’s budget as a “housing-centric’ budget.
The Maldives has a population of some 500,000 people, including its migrant population. While the country has hundreds of islands, most of the population is concentrated in the greater Male’ area, with the capital, Male’ City, ranked the fifth most densely populated island on Earth. Many of the people in Male’ live on rent in cramped but expensive apartments.
The housing crisis has also been linked to multiple other social issues, such as low birth rates and rising aging population.