Male’ City Council to withhold land transfer for Fish Market pending information disclosure

The Male' City Council, on Wednesday, has decided to withhold the handover of the land designated for the redevelopment of the Male' Fish Market to the Ministry of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development, pending the disclosure of necessary information.

During Wednesday’s council meeting, Male' City Mayor Adam Azim noted that the Housing Ministry had formally requested the transfer of the land plot to proceed with the Fish Market redevelopment project.

However, he emphasized the Council must complete the required due process before any transfer can take place, adding a letter has been sent to the Ministry seeking clarification on these matters.

Mayor Azim reiterated his commitment to the timely completion of the market but said the process has been affected by what he described as “confusions” regarding the project’s current status. He further urged Minister of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development Dr. Abdulla Muththalib to engage directly with the Council and attend its sessions in order to fulfill his responsibilities.

The Mayor proposed that the land should not be handed over until the Council receives the detailed information requested in its correspondence. The motion, seconded by North Machchangolhi Councilor Khadheeja Mohamed, was unanimously approved by all councilors present. Notably, main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) holds supermajority in the incumbent Council.

Despite the Council’s current position, Mayor Azim assured that if the Ministry were to provide the required information today itself, the Council would extend full cooperation to facilitate the immediate commencement of the project after reviewing the documentation.

The original USD 6.1 million contract for the fish market project was awarded through a competitive bidding process back when President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu served as the city’s mayor. But during the transitional period between when President Muizzu won the 2023 presidential election and took office and before incumbent Mayor Adam Azim won the January 2024 by-election, the city council cancelled the original contract and awarded the project to a new party for a higher price of USD 9.5 million.

The contract was signed on behalf of the city council by Head of the Legal Section, Ali Naseer Qasim. Previous attempts to summon Qasim to a council meeting for the probe were unsuccessful due to lack of quorum as ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) councilors, which held the supermajority back then, failed to attend.