Male' City Council has appealed to have Gulhifalhu designated as a Residential Zone, with Mayor Dr. Mohamed Muizzu confirming that he had addressed the issue with President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Thursday.

At a press conference held on Thursday night, Mayor Dr. Muizzu stated that he had appealed for President Solih to have Gulhifalhu developed as a dedicated Residential Zone in order to provide housing for citizens of Male; City.

Mayor Dr. Muizzu stated that Male' City residents wished to acquire housing through plots of land or apartments in Gulhifalhu, and that the present plan involved developing a port in the region. Mayor Dr. Muizzu appealed to have adjustments made to the port development plan, and to have plots of land and apartments given to residents of Male' City from Gulhufalhu instead.

During Thursday's meeting, Mayor Dr. Muizzu recounted that President Solih had revealed the current development plan for Gulhifalhu was based on the recommendation of a number of relevant authorities. President Solih had stated that the plan had been developed after analyzing a number of documents from 2015. In addition to this, President Solih stated that the initial plan to develop Gulhufalhu as a Light Industrial Zone had been devised as open burning of waste was being conducted in Thilafushi.

However, Mayor Dr. Muizzu reports that President Solih had stated that as the port can now be moved to Thilafushi with other available avenues for waste management.

It had been the initial plan to develop a port at Thilafushi and to have land and apartments given out from Gulhifalhu when Mayor Dr. Mohamed Muizzu had been Minister of Housing under the Yaameen administration.

Mayor Dr. Muizzu accepted that it would not be easy to change the port agreement, but asserted that he felt designating Gulhifalhu as a residential Zone was necessary considering the dire need of housing among Male' City residents. Mayor Dr. Muizzu proposed moving warehouses planned for Gulhifalhu elsewhere in the Male' region so that the space coulc be used to develop housing and allocate plots of land.

Noting that the Male' City Council would be playing an important role in finalizing the Gulhifalhu plan, Mayor Dr. Muizzu called for authorities to work with the council in adjusting the current port development plan for Gulhifalhu.

Mayor Dr. Muizzu stated that his goal was to have the port be developed in Thilafushi, so that Male' City residents currently living in the highly congested capital could be given dignified housing from Gulhifalhu.