Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer has said the administration aims to begin the development of 10,000 housing units next year.
Development of affordable housing units is an electoral pledge of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. The development of 20,000 affordable housing units during the 5-year term of the administration is also one of the most important projects included in the Strategic Action Plan (SAP) the government had recently launched.
Speaking at the parliament to present the State Budget 2020, Minister Ameer said the project to develop affordable social housing units will provide a solution to the problem of unsafe and congested housing issues the capital and other islands face. He remarked it is the biggest ever project to be conducted in the country.
Minister Ameer said one of the key pledges of the administration is to provide affordable social housing to the people in the efforts to provide a better and a happier life for the Maldivian people. He expressed anticipation the development of 20,000 housing units will be completed within the 5-year term.
The minister further said the administration will begin the development of 10,000 units next year. He added the USD 38.91 million included in the State Budget is for the equity for the development of the first 10,000 housing units. He said the administration is also working towards providing financing options with a lower interest rates for housing development projects.
The USD 2.4 billion State Budget proposed for 2020 allocates USD 201 million to finance the development of housing and provision of public service. The budget also includes USD 23.28 million for the development of housing units in islands across the country.