The Parliament Budget Committee has approved the USD 1.8 billion state budget as proposed by the government for 2018. The state budget for 2018 was approved unanimously with 12 votes from parliamentarians who represents the government coalition in the committee. No parliamentarian from the opposition movement participated in the vote.
No major changes were made to the proposed budget, but the committee made three recommendations and brought an alteration to one public-sector investment programme (PSIP). The three recommendations include the purchase of full share of Male' Water and Sewerage Company (MWSC) and Dhiraagu by the government, providing financial assistance to independent institutions from a special budget managed by Ministry of Finance and Treasury and contracting government associated companies and Maldives-based firms for PSIPs.