Auditor General says Rasmalé project will be audited, urges commercial inclusion in land reclamation

Auditor General Hussein Niyaz stated today that the Rasmalé project will also be audited under the system where all state-funded projects are audited. During a meeting held by the People’s Majlis Budget Committee today to study the budget proposed for next year, Niyaz replied to a question raised by a member, stating that land reclamation projects should be implemented in a way that generates income. He further stated that it must be accepted that land reclamation projects can only be run as feasible if commercial portions are included. The Auditor General said that if commercial portions are not included during land reclamation, the reclaimed land will remain unused. Over the past 30 years, the state has spent a total of 19 billion rufiya on land reclamation projects, and he stated that if commercial portions had been included in those areas, 80 percent of that money would have been recovered by now. Furthermore, he stated that many reclaimed lands do not receive services such as electricity and water, so they are not being used for housing or industrial purposes, and while the land remains unused in this manner, the commercial value of those areas amounts to 15 billion.