As part of the new government’s reform of the ‘Hiyaa’ shelter project, only 3,588 housing units will be given out, Housing Minister Athifa Shakoor has said.

At the parliament sitting on Tuesday, Minister Athifa said that, due to the government’s reform of the project structure, the initially stated number of housing units has been reduced by nearly half. 

Minister Athifa was summoned for questioning by south-Maafannu MP Abdulla Rifaau, a member of the opposition Progressive Party of Maldives' parliamentary group. 

The ‘Hiyaa’ project was marketed and initially launched to provide 7,000 housing units being developed at the reclaimed ‘Phase 2’ area in Hulhumalé, the capital city’s urban extension. 

Minister Athifa said that the reform includes developing housing units with three rooms, instead of the initially planned two-room units. 

There are 2,500 units yet to be developed for the ‘Hiyaa’ project, which will all be three-room units, Minister Athifa said, adding that the project will still house over 22,000 people. 

The project to build 16 complexes with 7,000 housing units in total was assigned to the China State Construction Engineering Corporation in December 2017.