News Desk
Male’ — In a bold effort to overhaul its correctional system, the Maldives government has announced plans for a centralized prison complex and a juvenile rehabilitation center, named “Hope Island,” to be built in Uthuru Thilafalhu, a reclaimed area near the capital, Malé. The government is offering investors the police training island of Dh. Atoll’s Vaanee Island and two additional lagoons as incentives to fund the projects.
The Ministry of Homeland Security and Technology on Monday invited expressions of interest from companies to develop these landmark initiatives, which aim to consolidate the nation’s prison facilities and provide sustainable rehabilitation for young offenders. The projects, approved by presidential decree on April 1, address chronic overcrowding in existing prisons and seek to enhance rehabilitation services.
The central prison, designed to accommodate approximately 6,000 inmates, staff, educators, and visitors, will unify the country’s fragmented correctional facilities. With the Maldives already having one of the highest incarceration rates regionally, the planned capacity translates to roughly 1,111 inmates per 100,000 people, based on the nation’s estimated population of 540,000. The complex will include residential units, vocational training centers, educational and medical facilities, drug rehabilitation programs, a mosque, a courtroom, recreational spaces, a ceremonial ground, a halfway house, administrative offices, mess halls, and utility services.
Hope Island, a separate 15-hectare facility to be dredged from Uthuru Thilafalhu, will serve as a long-term rehabilitation and reintegration center for about 700 juveniles. Aligned with the National Strategy for Sustainable Rehabilitation, the project emphasizes compassionate reform for young offenders. It is slated for completion by October 2027.
To finance the projects, the government is employing a cross-subsidization model, allowing investors to offset costs through commercially viable components. The Home Ministry has allocated $15 million for Hope Island’s development and $10 million for its land reclamation, while the central prison will receive $15 million for construction and an additional $15 million for dredging.
Both foreign and domestic companies are invited to submit expressions of interest by 2 p.m. on April 27, either directly to the Home Ministry or via email at bureau@mohst.gov.mv.
