115 Hectares Filled at Giravaafaru, Plot Handover to Begin Soon: Minister

Housing Minister Dr. Abdulla Muthalib stated that the government is working on various fronts to prepare plots distributed to Malé residents under the previous administration so that they can be inhabited. Speaking at the 'Aaha' forum organised by the President's Office and state media PSM, the minister said that while plots were given out from Hulhumale 3, Ghulhiyfahu, and Giravaafaru through the landowner scheme, more land was distributed than what had been filled. Muthalib said that Hulhumale 3 and Ghulhiyfahu have been filled, and plots from these two areas have been handed over approximately. Regarding Giravaafaru, the minister said that after filling an area larger than one hundred hectares, the work was halted entirely due to changes in oil prices linked to instability in the Middle East, but that the work has now resumed. Muthalib expressed hope that survey work would begin soon and the process of handing over plots would continue. A total of 167.15 hectares are being filled from Giravaafaru. Last week, the Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) announced that out of the 167 hectares, 115 hectares have been filled, completing 68 percent of the total work. MACL is using the Queen of Netherlands and Orange Dredger, which are currently the largest single dredgers in the world, to speed up the filling work. Muthalib also said that arrangements are being made to allow those who received plots from Ghulhiyfahu and Hulhumale 3 to construct boundary walls and other structures on these plots through the Housing Development Corporation (HDC). He noted that establishing all services and constructing roads in Ghulhiyfahu is estimated to cost over 400 million dollars, and that the government has decided to start water and sewage network works as quickly as possible in collaboration with Public Works Service and MTCC.