Minister of National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure Mohamed Aslam has revealed the administration will only continue projects this year that have been already contracted. The minister made the remarks at the Parliament of the Maldives when he was summoned to be questioned about the projects that will be undertaken by the administration in various sectors.
Answering to questions posed by the parliamentarians, the housing minister announced all the projects that have not been contracted so far will not be launched this year. The minister added the state budget does not allow further projects to be launched this year as the country has been faced by economic challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic. However, he assured the projects that have already been handed over to contractors will be continued as scheduled and would not be postponed.
A significant USD 662 million has been allocated in the state budget for projects to be conducted under the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP). Previously, Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer had also stated some projects will be postponed due to the economic downfall as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.