Planning Minister: Unaware of details about floating city project

Minister of Planning Mohamed Aslam on Tuesday said the the floating city project to be developed in the Male’ City area was not directly under the ministry, hence was unaware of all the details pertaining to it. 

During the Parliament session for Tuesday, Funadhoo MP Ahmed Shahid and North Thinadhooo MP Abdul Mugunee questioned the minister regarding this project. 

MP Shahid had even inquired about the number of lagoons given for this. Responding to this, the minister said that he recalled either one or two. 

Subsequently, MP Mugunee asked how many of those lagoons have now been reclaimed. 

When a second question about the floating city was asked, Speaker of the Parliament Mohamed Nasheed requested the Minister Aslam to provide a most detailed answer, adding that the minister would be aware of all the details. 

“I am aware that a Maldivian company was assigned to create a mock-up. The project is not being operated directly under the ministry right now, so might not be aware of all the details regarding it.”

Maldives Floating City is a new floating development of 5,000 homes being built in a lagoon close to Male’ City.

The initial agreement to utilize floating islands technology to build resorts in Maldives was signed back in 2010 during Nasheed’s administration. Back then, the company was issued lagoons number 9, 19, 17, and 37 for the project.

News of the project resurfaced in international media in 2015, before eventually dying down.

The future of the project remained uncertain until the current administration signed a second agreement with Dutch Docklands in 2019 - to build a floating city near the Maldivian capital.

The project was officially launched in March 2021.