President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has announced the decision to increase the plots of land to be issued from the Greater Malé Region for housing.

He made this announcement during his fifth presidential address, delivered during the inaugural sitting of the People’s Majlis on Monday morning.

Referring to his fourth presidential address delivered at the parliament on 3 February 2022, President Solih said that there will be no deception in the government’s aim to complete the work.

As such, he said that 2023 will mark the first year in which a flat building which started from the foundation, will be completed and people will be housed during a tenure.

The Maldivian leader assured that the housing units will be diverse and generous in terms of space.

Once the application window was opened for housing in the Greater Malé Region, a total of 20,697 applications had been received by the authorities.

15,164 applications received for the plots of land are currently being processed as well.

A confident president revealed that the beneficiaries of housing units will be handed their letters by the end of June this year.

The decision to increase the number of plots allotted in the Greater Malé Region from the previously mentioned amount was also announced.

Highlighting that one component of providing shelter for the citizens is housing loans, the president added that the government received 579 home loan applications under the “Gedhoruveriyaa” scheme, by the end of January 2023.

About 55 percent of the loans have already been approved, with loan agreements having been signed with 249 individuals so far.

In addition to this, the president noted that 556 housing units would be completed by May 2023 from housing units to be constructed in outlying atolls.

He revealed that the work to construct 2,200 more housing units is currently underway in atolls.