President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has inaugurated the revised master plan of Hulhumalé, which has been developed with revolutionary changes. The President inaugurated the Hulhumalé Revised Master Plan at a special ceremony held this morning in Hulhumalé Phase 2. The ceremony was attended by the Minister of National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure Dr. Abdullah Muttalib, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development Adam Shareef Umar, and senior officials from the Housing Development Corporation (HDC).
HDC says that the master plan of Hulhumalé has been revised and developed by the current management to facilitate many needs for the growing population of Hulhumalé. As such, additional land has been reclaimed from the lagoon of Hulhumalé in recent years, and with the increase in land area, the current management of HDC has sought many technical consultations and advice on how to use these lands.
While the Hulhumalé master plan has been revised and inaugurated, this plan includes establishing services and additional resources that will be needed for the residents of Hulhumalé in line with the changing times. HDC also notes that increasing business and economic activities and bringing new things is one of the main purposes of revising this plan.
A 3D model of the Hulhumalé master plan was also showcased at this ceremony. And the new website of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) was inaugurated. The new website was inaugurated by the Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development Adam Shareef Umar. Hulhumalé is the first city in the Maldives to be populated with a master plan. The first phase of Hulhumalé was reclaimed and people started settling there in 2004. Over the past 21 years, the landscape of Hulhumalé has undergone significant changes.
As such, while Phase 2 has been added and people have started living there, the government is now working on reclaiming land for Phase 3 and establishing other resources. Hulhumalé Phase 1 includes 194 hectares and this is a phase developed targeting a population of 100,000 people. Phase 2 includes 251 hectares and this is a city being developed targeting a population of 250,000 people
Important aspects included in the revised master plan:
In the revised master plan of Hulhumalé, HDC has included allocating land for different purposes and changes that need to be brought with time and development. As such, this master plan has designated to increase the port area of Hulhumalé from the current 36 hectares to 53 hectares. And land for schools, mosques, office spaces, and other essential services and resources have been designated in different neighborhoods.
The allocation of land for different purposes is as follows:
- For residential purposes: 29.84%
- For schools, mosques, and institutions: 10.41%
- For commercial purposes: 5.56%
- Mixed residential commercial zone: 1.44%
- Green space, sports and recreation: 30.62%
- For office space and other purposes: 3.64%
- For industrial activities: 5.76%
In addition, Hulhumalé Phase 2 and Phase 3 will be connected by a total of 11 connections, establishing systems for easy transportation, and land has been designated for plots of the Binveriaa project. Likewise, establishing different resources that will provide different experiences for families is also an important goal set in this master plan. As such, this plan has designated to bring new things targeting different aspects including financial, tourism, cultural and recreation and event spaces. In addition, this plan includes establishing the infrastructure and other resources needed for the first international financial institution to be developed in the Maldives. HDC says this is a master plan developed with sustainable development and long-term vision in mind, facilitating the improvement of people’s living standards.
