News Desk
The Male’ City Council has voted to hand over the site of the capital’s wet market to the Fisheries Ministry to move forward with the MVR 126.35 million redevelopment project—on the strict condition that the completed facility is handed right back to the council within 30 months.
The decision was made during the council’s first emergency meeting of its fifth term, where 11 out of 16 councilors present voted in favor of the resolution.
Under the approved terms, the ministry must construct the new facility on the 17,558.54-square-foot plot currently housing the local market, directly across from the existing Male’ Fish Market. The resolution mandates that detailed architectural drawings must be shared with the council and explicitly bars any part of the land from being transferred to a third party.
Crucially, the council ruled that physical construction cannot begin until temporary stalls are arranged for all vendors currently operating at the site.
Speaking at the session, Male’ City Mayor Adam Azim acknowledged that the current setup is no longer fit for purpose.
“The fish market in its current state is simply not suitable for selling fish,” Azim said.
Azim also noted that separate audit findings regarding past dealings with the wet market project were formally submitted to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) back in December 2025 for investigation.
The government signed the MVR 126.35 million development contract with TrustEng Maldives Pvt Ltd back in March. While the housing ministry previously accused the council of stalling progress by withholding the land, Mayor Azim dismissed those claims, maintaining that the council has not refused cooperation but insisted on following proper legal process before releasing the plot.
