Ministry of National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure has revealed Huravee Building will be demolished to make way for a public park with a parking area.
The 35-year-old building in Male' City houses many state institutions including the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Maldives Transport Authority, Maldives Immigration, and some units of the Male' City Council. The four-storey building was built using coral as the construction material in the early years of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's administration.
The structure has been showing signs of wear and tear, with occasional collapses of parts of the building, which had damaged motorcycles parked outside and injured an elderly bystander. Huravee has now been emptied and its offices transferred to other buildings.
Speaking to PSM News, Minister of State for National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure Akram Kamaluddeen said the building will be demolished within the next two to three months. He said the ministry plans to build a public park with a parking area in the land plot.
The decision to demolish Huravee was initially made in 2010 during former President Mohamed Nasheed's administration. However, the plan was not implemented as there were no other buildings to transfer the government offices at the time.