President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has said the government’s regional development programme will play a key role in easing the long-standing congestion in Malé by creating stronger urban centres across the country and reducing the need for people to relocate to the capital.
Speaking during the fourth episode of the “The Pulse” podcast, the President said the population pressure facing Malé is largely the result of decades of migration from the islands, driven by the search for employment, education and essential public services.
According to the President, addressing the capital’s overcrowding requires more than expanding infrastructure within Malé itself. Instead, he said the government is pursuing a long-term strategy focused on balanced national development by establishing seven regional urban centres across the Maldives.
“We are currently carrying out work on an integrated development zone in the north,” President Muizzu said, noting that each of the planned urban centres will be equipped with key public services, including advanced healthcare facilities and greater employment opportunities.
He said the initiative is intended to encourage people to remain in their home regions rather than relocating to the capital, where around 40 percent of the country’s population currently resides.
The President added that creating jobs, improving healthcare and expanding educational opportunities outside the Greater Malé region are central to the government’s efforts to reduce internal migration and achieve more balanced population distribution.
Alongside regional development, the administration is also moving ahead with projects aimed at tackling infrastructure challenges within Malé itself.
President Muizzu acknowledged that the shortage of parking has remained a persistent issue in the capital and said construction on at least two multi-storey parking facilities is expected to begin this year.
He added that the government intends to finance the projects independently rather than seeking external assistance.
“I do not intend to proceed in that manner,” the President said, referring to the use of foreign funding for the parking developments.
He also noted that work has already commenced on several parking structures in Hulhumalé, which are expected to help ease traffic and parking pressures in the Greater Malé area.
The government has repeatedly identified decentralisation as one of its key policy priorities, arguing that strengthening regional infrastructure and public services is essential to easing the growing strain on housing, transport and public utilities in the capital.
