HDC says Media Village will be completed by the end of this month

The Media Village will be completed by the end of this month, according to the Housing Development Corporation (HDC).

HDC told state broadcaster PSM that final works, including wall painting, installing office partitions and other minor finishing tasks, are currently underway. The corporation said its target is to complete all remaining work within July.

In this year’s Presidential Statement, President Dr Mohamed Muizzu said the Media Village would be completed by mid-2026.

The Media Village is being developed on the ground floor of the Manhattan Grand Hotel, formerly the abandoned City Hotel, in Hulhumale' Phase 1. The facility will house 34 subsidised office and studio spaces for registered local media outlets.

President Muizzu first announced the Media Village initiative on May 3, 2024, in a special address issued on Press Freedom Day. Discussions on the project began in early August that year.

The City Hotel property was awarded on August 20, 2024, to World of Business Pvt Ltd, a foreign investment company operating in the Maldives under Dubai-based Deep Sea Food Company, to redevelop the site into a five-star hotel and establish several educational institutions, including the Media Village.