Yameen says future govt shouldn't honour Ras Malé-Eagle Hills agreement

Former President Abdulla Yameen has said a future government should not be required to honour the agreement with UAE-based developer Eagle Hills for the Ras Malé development, alleging that the arrangement is unlawful and amounts to “selling the future” of Maldivians.

Yameen made the remarks while speaking at a People’s National Front (PNF) meeting on Thursday night.

The government and Eagle Hills signed commercial terms earlier this week for the Maldives Waterfront and Marina project in the Ras Malé area. The agreement was signed in Dubai by Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development Minister Dr Abdulla Muththalib on behalf of the government and Eagle Hills Chairman Mohamed Alabbar. 

The development is planned to include hotels and resorts, residential properties, a marina, retail and dining facilities and other infrastructure. Publicly announced plans also provide for properties within the development to be offered under long-term leasehold arrangements.

Yameen said he believed the agreement was unlawful and argued that a future administration would therefore have no obligation to uphold it.

“Because it is an illegal agreement, the next government will not have to uphold it. There will be no obligation whatsoever,” Yameen said.

He accused the government of “selling the future of the Maldivian people”, arguing that no administration had a legal mandate to enter into an arrangement of this nature.

“This UAE company should also know that our future cannot be sold in this manner,” he said. “They are selling things that would not be permitted even in their own country. Therefore, there will be no respect for agreements of this kind.”

Yameen also questioned the proposed timeframe and financing of the project. He said it was difficult to accept that a privately financed development of such scale could proceed over about 15 years while potentially spending several years without securing financing.

The government has separately said Eagle Hills will construct 5,000 housing units in Hulhumalé under a contractor-financing arrangement connected to the wider development. Under the arrangement described by the Housing Minister, the government would make payments after the units are completed and handed over to the state.

Yameen’s comments follow criticism and debate over the terms of the Ras Malé development.

About two weeks before the agreement was signed, President Dr Mohamed Muizzu was questioned at a press conference about reports that part of Ras Malé would be allocated to a Dubai-based company.

At the time, Muizzu rejected the reports and said the government had not decided to give even “a grain of sand” from Ras Malé to a foreign party for free or on lease.

Yameen criticised the President over those remarks, alleging that Muizzu would have already known about the planned agreement when he made the statement.

“He would have known very well at the time that he had already decided to do this,” Yameen said. “To say otherwise while knowing that is a deliberate lie.”

Yameen said the subsequent agreement showed that part of Ras Malé had now been allocated for the development, describing the situation as a serious issue for the public.

The government has defended the Eagle Hills project as a major investment programme intended to generate foreign investment, expand economic activity and contribute to the development of Ras Malé. The commercial terms agreement sets out the broad framework for the development, while detailed terms are expected to be developed as the project progresses.