Fayyaz calls for full disclosure of Ras Malé agreement with Eagle Hills
He also questioned whether an independent valuation had been conducted for the approximately 500 hectares allocated to Eagle Hills.
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Former Economic Minister Fayyaz Ismail has called on the government to disclose its full agreement with UAE-based Eagle Hills for the Ras Malé waterfront and marina project and seek public consultation before proceeding with the development.
Fayyaz raised the concerns in a statement on Saturday, focusing on the lack of publicly available information about the commercial terms of the agreement and the allocation of about 500 hectares of Ras Malé to the project.
The government and Eagle Hills signed a commercial terms agreement on 21 September for the Maldives Waterfront and Marina, a mixed-use development planned for Ras Malé. The project has been publicly valued at up to USD 20 billion and is expected to include hotels and resorts, residences, a marina, retail and dining facilities and other infrastructure.
The government has maintained that the land allocated to the project has not been sold and will remain under state ownership under a long-term leasehold arrangement. Finance Minister Hassan Zareer has said the land is being leased for up to 99 years.
Fayyaz, however, said the government had not disclosed the commercial terms of the agreement to the public, Parliament or the media. He called for the terms to be made public and for the project to proceed only after public consultation.
He also questioned whether an independent valuation had been conducted for the approximately 500 hectares allocated to Eagle Hills, arguing that without such a valuation there was no way to determine whether the state was receiving an appropriate return for the land.
Fayyaz also raised concerns over the tenure arrangements for properties developed under the project.
Eagle Hills initially said properties would be leased for 99 years and that when rights were transferred through a sale or inheritance, a new 99-year lease would begin. The company subsequently revised the wording of its public statement amid debate over the arrangement.
Fayyaz said that if the agreement itself contains a provision allowing a fresh 99-year term whenever a property is sold or inherited, the arrangement could effectively keep the land outside direct Maldivian control indefinitely. He argued that such a structure would resemble freehold ownership in practical terms.
The government has rejected claims that the arrangement amounts to foreign ownership of Maldivian land. Infrastructure and Housing Minister Dr Abdulla Muththalib said buyers would own the property developed on the land, while the underlying land would remain state property. He also said any subsequent sale or inheritance would be subject to government oversight and approval.
Muththalib has also said purchasing a property under the development would not automatically grant a visa or permanent residency in the Maldives. Visas would remain subject to Immigration procedures and could be cancelled under existing laws.
Fayyaz called on the government to provide clear answers on property ownership as well as the residency and citizenship implications for foreign buyers.
He also questioned the financial terms of the project, arguing that the government had not adequately explained why the agreement represented a better deal for the Maldives than similar arrangements Eagle Hills has entered into elsewhere.
The government has said it expects to receive revenue through a 10 per cent share of sales from the commercial development, a four per cent fee on property transactions and applicable taxes.
Fayyaz argued that the terms should have been structured to generate more immediate foreign currency inflows, particularly given the country's foreign exchange constraints. He also raised concerns that no advance payment had been received for the project and questioned the timing of the financial benefits expected from the development.
He called on the government to take five steps before proceeding further: disclose the full agreement with Eagle Hills; provide clear answers on land ownership, residency and citizenship; commission an independent valuation of the 500 hectares through an internationally recognised party; explain how the agreement compares with similar Eagle Hills projects in other countries; and suspend further implementation until the details surrounding the project have been made public.
President Mohamed Muizzu has said the project will proceed despite the criticism and has rejected claims that the agreement will result in foreign ownership of Ras Malé land. About 500 hectares of the approximately 1,100-hectare Ras Malé development have been allocated for the Eagle Hills project, while the government says the remaining area will be used largely for housing and other development.
