FDC chief: There's no room to question quality of flats

There will be no room to question the quality of the 4,000 housing units being built in Hulhumale’ Phase II under the ‘Gedhoruveriya’ scheme, says Hamdhan Shakeel, the managing director of Fahi Dhiriulhun Corporation (FDC).

In an appearance on SSTV’s ‘Baaru Hathareh’ show, Hamdhan said the quality of the flats has been his top priority since taking over the management of FDC.

Hamdhan said that the towers are built with concrete, and “not a single cement block.” He said that the use of concrete makes it more sustainable, and will avoid common issues with other housing projects such as cracks in the walls.

“To check the quality of the concrete structure, we tested multiple samples from over 50,000 concrete cubes. I don’t think such an extensive quality check has ever been run in the Maldives. There will be no room to question the quality,” he said.

Hamdhan said the FDC will continue to run quality checks over a one-year period after the handover of the units. He provided assurance the corporation will attend to any issues.

Hamdhan said that the housing towers will ease the demand for housing in the Male’ area, both in the short term and in the long run.

Last month, the FDC said that the handover of the flats is on hold at instructions from the Housing Ministry. But Hamdhan said that the construction of the towers is going ahead nonstop.

The 4,000 units are being built in 32 towers.

According to Hamdhan, structural works are complete in 24 of the towers, and “speedy work” is being carried out to finish structural works on the remaining eight towers.

The FDC expects to hand over the last of the units before the end of July.

“The work on all towers will be done before the end of this year. Most of the finishing works will also be done in the majority of the towers. We plan on handing over the units as soon as the work is done. We plan on handing over the last tower on July 25,” he said.

The government has come under mounting pressure over the delay in the handover of flats under the ‘Gedhoruveriya’ scheme – a housing scheme launched by the last administration.

It has sparked serial protests in Male’.

Hamdhan stressed that FDC is only the developer. He said that decisions regarding the recipients of the flats and allocation of units fall within the purview of the Housing Ministry, and not the FDC.

He added that the Housing Ministry is working quickly to resolve all issues with the list of recipients.