On the one-year anniversary of the massive fire that burned down the building block housing three ministries, Minister of Construction, Housing and Infrastructure Dr. Abdulla Muthalib has applauded the Ministry’s staff for carrying on through heartache and tears.
Exactly a year ago today, on December 12, 2024, a fire broke out at a block of government buildings located in the Ameenee Magu of Male’ City at around 06:00am.  The two buildings housed the Housing Ministry, Infrastructure Ministry, which had been a separate government Ministry back then, Environment Ministry, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and three sections of the Male’ City Council – including the Vital Registration Department.
Fire at building block housing government ministries and offices on December 12, 2024. (Sun Photo)
The fire, which started in the building that housed the Housing Ministry, the Infrastructure Ministry, and a Malé City Council office, quickly grew out of control and spread to the nearby Green Building, where the Environment Ministry and the EPA were located.
The buildings were burned beyond use in the incident, disrupting the operations of government ministries and offices housed in the buildings. Although some documents were retrieved from the site, the damage caused by the blaze was extensive.
Minister Muthalib, via a post on X on Friday afternoon, underscored that today marked the one-year anniversary of the vote. He applauded the Ministry’s staff for adapting, rebuilding and carrying on with purpose through the heartache and tears they endured.
A year ago, a fire took our office building. Through heartache and tears, we endured. Our staff adapted, rebuilt, and carried on with purpose. pic.twitter.com/TliOrQQJO9
— Abdulla Muththalib (@muththo) December 12, 2025
The incident stands as the most severe case of fire-related damage to a government-owned building. Maldives Police Service launched an investigation on the same day, and Indian experts joined the inquiry soon after.
However, to date, no details regarding the investigation have been disclosed by the authorities. Although the Police scheduled a press conference some two months ago to brief the press regarding their investigation, even sending out invites, the press conference was cancelled at the last moment.
Thus, the cause of the fire, which burned down ministries and offices maintaining important records, is still unknown, including any potential link to arson.