Ministry of Defence has announced plans for a new housing project in Hulhumale' Phase II to address the housing needs of Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) officers.
Speaking to PSM News, Minister of Defence Mariya Ahmed Didi revealed that the government has allocated 100,000sqft of land for MNDF officers in Hulhumale' Phase II. She said the objective is to alleviate housing challenges faced by officers. She said that if President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih is reelected for a second term, he intends to construct apartments for the families of officers on the land. She also said that plans are already underway with the necessary architectural plans and designs already completed.
Construction of housing units for military and police officers commenced in 2013 but faced a setback when the previous government terminated the contract in 2016 due to concerns related to the publication of the list of flat recipients. The current administration has taken steps to address the development delay by contracting Amin Construction Private Limited to complete the Police Cooperative (POLCO) flats and 23rd Metallurgical Construction Group Co. Limited to construct the SIFCO flats. The project consists of 691 housing units, including 330 flats at SIFCO and 361 flats at POLCO, all of which have now been completed and handed over to the recipients. Furthermore, the price of the flats will be reduced to USD104,000.