Ledger
Each row is a public claim about the project, with its current status and the evidence behind it. A row changes when a document appears, a deadline is missed, or an official number moves. “No change” is also a finding.
| Item | Public claim | Status | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Next deadline | Definitive agreement by end of October 2026 | Not met | No signing reported by 31 Oct 2026. President, 28 Oct: full agreement goes to a Majlis committee “when the agreement is finalised”. Alabbar has said he hopes to sign around Republic Day (11 Nov). See the next row for the reported new target |
| New signing target | Definitive agreement before 17 November 2026 | Reported, not announced | President told PNC MPs and ministers, Adhadhu reported (Maldives Independent, 4 Nov). No public announcement. Mark signed or not on 17 Nov |
| President on referendum, 9 Nov 2026 | No public referendum on the Eagle Hills project: “This is not something we will hold a public referendum on.” Says the Real Estate Business Bill sets out Maldivians’ rights and protects independence, sovereignty and the rule of law, and that opposition claims about the project are untrue | Official position | Press conference, President’s Office, 9 Nov; Edition, Atoll Times, MV+. The Referendum Act lets the President put matters of national importance to a public vote. See “Referendum demand” below |
| Real Estate Business Bill: zones | Submitted to the Majlis 9 Nov, the first law on real estate. “Integrated real estate zones” are declared by the President only, for masterplan projects of at least USD 1 billion; Edition also reports a 200-hectare minimum. A zone is leased for up to 99 years; units are sold as 99-year leaseholds on a surrender-and-regrant model. 10% of master-developer zone revenue goes to the state. The developer builds and runs roads, power, water, sewerage, waste and transport, and may levy a usage charge. A set number of Maldivians must be employed in every business in the zone | Bill, not law | Edition, 9 Nov (two reports). President, 28 Oct: bill to be published for about two weeks of public comment; no comment period was reported before submission. Monitor has not yet read the bill text |
| Real Estate Business Bill: buyers and conduct | No single nationality may own more than 25% of a zone’s properties. Israeli nationals, and companies with any Israeli stake, barred from buying; no sales to anyone banned from entering the Maldives. Maldivian security services police the zones. Gambling and anything forbidden under Islamic Shariah banned; no religious establishments other than Islamic. Developments and businesses in a zone may not import, sell or use alcohol or pork | Bill, not law | Edition, 9 Nov. Matches the President’s statements of 20 and 28 Oct |
| Real Estate Business Bill: tourism facilities | Resorts, hotels and other tourism facilities may be built on separate islands or lagoons inside a zone, licensed by the Tourism Ministry. Tourism law applies to tourist safety and service quality; property deals stay under the Real Estate Act | Reading disputed | Edition, 9 Nov. MV+ reads the bill as allowing alcohol and pork on separately reclaimed islands in zones like Ras Malé; Edition’s report says zones ban them. The minister told scholars on 30 Sept that hotels could serve alcohol under a Tourism Act licence. Need the bill text to settle |
| Defamation bill | Right to Protection of Name and Reputation Bill, submitted 8 Nov by PNC MP Mohamed Ismail (Vilimalé). Makes defamation a civil wrong. Covers all registered media, social media and online platforms, and statements made abroad if seen in the Maldives. Seven-day notice before suing; one year to file; courts to decide within six months. Damages up to MVR 500,000 for material loss and MVR 50,000–500,000 for non-material loss; less after an apology. Truth is a defence. Suits cannot be filed against government institutions or independent state bodies | Bill, not law | Atoll Times, Edition, 9 Nov. Not specific to Ras Malé in its text as reported. Critics’ claims that it targets opposition to the project will be recorded here once published with a named source |
| Deal signed | Commercial terms, 21 Sept 2026 | Reported | Press and ministry photos. Full text unpublished |
| Land for Eagle Hills | About 500 ha of Ras Malé (about 1,100 ha total site). Rest said to stay for local housing | Official claim | Need map. Ministry says pledged Ras Malé plots are not affected |
| Acquisition fee and rent | No acquisition fee and no rent for 99 years. Revenue share chosen instead of a lump-sum lease fee | Official claim | Housing Minister; local reports. Not verified in a public contract |
| State take | 10% of master-developer revenue; 4% on each property sale or resale; TGST on hotels, meals, shops; no tax holiday. Housing Minister, 15 Oct: the 10% is a “land premium” on Eagle Hills’ gross revenue | Announced | Written reply to MP, 15 Oct 2026. Definition of gross revenue and audit rights still unpublished |
| Escrow and banks | Sale receipts in a Maldives escrow; project funds through local banks. Minister, 15 Oct: off-plan payments go first to escrow at MMA-licensed banks. President, 20 Oct: escrow is government-controlled | Announced | Need bank name, account control and release rules |
| 5,000 homes: where | Housing Minister: Hulhumalé, three-bedroom. One finance quote: location set by government | Mostly specified | Plot or phase in Hulhumalé not published |
| 5,000 homes: money | USD 400–500 million, contractor finance by Eagle Hills. No sovereign guarantee claimed. Cost later taken from government’s 10% share and/or from selling the units | Two official explanations | Minister, 15 Oct: government incurs no financial obligation for the homes. Who they are sold to, at what price, still unknown |
| Housing start | Planning now; construction Q1 2027 | Target | Finance Minister, 21–22 Sept 2026 |
| Projected state revenue | Two official figures. Over USD 11 billion during the development period (ministerial figure, Sept). About USD 3.1 billion over 10 years from the 10% share (Housing Minister, written reply 15 Oct) | Two projections | Periods and bases differ. Method for neither figure published |
| Tenure | Land stays with the state; no freehold. Eagle Hills (21 Sept): up to 99 years, with a new term on each sale or inheritance. President (20 Oct): no automatic renewal; at the end of 99 years the buyer must sell back to the state, which decides any resale. President to PNC MPs (about 27 Oct, reported): a new 99-year lease on each sale. Infrastructure Minister (30 Oct): each approved sale cancels the old lease and issues a new one for a 4% fee | Conflicting statements | Eagle Hills release; President on “The Pulse”, 20 Oct 2026; Adhadhu; Muththalib, 30 Oct. A leaked September recording has the minister describing the same reset to scholars. Buy-back price, payment period and re-tender rules not stated; resort leases have these in the Tourism Act. Need the lease instrument |
| Who may buy | Housing Minister: government approves each buyer; developer cannot freely assign to any third party | Official claim | Muththalib, Sept 2026. Need the consent clause in the contract |
| Visa and residency | Minister: purchase does not create PR or citizenship; state can issue or refuse a visa; cancelled visa means the person leaves and the unit is sold to another approved buyer | Official claim | Same statement. Existing corporate-resident visa rules still a separate question |
| Governing law | AG Usham, 29 Sept 2026: project to proceed under a Real Estate Law now being drafted; related bills must pass Majlis; only a commercial terms / letter of intent exists today; definitive contracts after that. Government says it will not act contrary to the Constitution | Official claim | X post @a_usham. President, 20 Oct: bill to go to Majlis “very soon”. Real Estate Business Bill submitted to the Majlis on 9 Nov; see the bill rows above. Supreme Court petition on Articles 250–251 refused by the registrar on 13 Oct as not a first-instance matter; the petitioner has asked the JSC to review |
| Alabbar visit, 7–8 Oct 2026 | Says nothing to hide; text unpublished because still being finished. Will not proceed without public support. Construction in about a year. First money: USD 500m Hulhumalé homes, recovered later. Finance: equity, loans, sales. Jobs: 40,000 build, 15,000–18,000 permanent. Tax claim conflicts: nearly USD 20bn in one report, nearly USD 2bn in another. Local firms and investors invited; funds via Maldivian banks. Maldivian law, including the 99-year rule, must be followed. | Interview claims | Sun, Mihaaru, PSM, 8–9 Oct 2026. No new signed text |
| Hulhumalé 5,000 homes: site | Concept posted 10–11 Oct 2026. Location: Hulhumalé Urban Isle (also called Phase 3). Designs by WOW Architects. Same land previously named for an ~USD 8–8.8bn financial centre and a Commercial Spine project. Early 2027 start claimed. Government says it sets price and who gets the homes. | Concept only | Minister video on X; Adhadhu on prior uses of the site. No plot survey or allotment list public |
| Buyer nationality rules | Minister, LinkedIn ~13 Oct 2026: draft Real Estate Law to bar Israeli nationals and Israeli-controlled entities as buyers, owners, shareholders, financiers or agents. Full nationality declaration; false statement voids lease and can forfeit the price. Checks on every transfer. Corporate residence visa still possible, subject to Israeli-passport ban and the new screen. No PR or citizenship from purchase. | Proposed, not law | LinkedIn post. Existing law bans Israeli passports, not dual nationals. Bill text unpublished |
| Local purchase priority | Minister, LinkedIn ~13 Oct 2026: aim is first right for Maldivians to buy a share of units in every phase of Ras Malé, paid in Maldivian rufiyaa. Proposed foreign ownership caps would not apply to Maldivian buyers. No percentage, price, reservation period or unsold-unit rule stated. | Proposed, not law | LinkedIn post, summarised by edition.mv, Sun, MV+ and Maldives Business Review. Not in the published commercial terms. Bill text unpublished |
| State buy-back at 99 years | President, 20 Oct: at the end of 99 years buyers must sell properties back to the state, which may resell. Compared to resorts | Not detailed | No valuation basis, payment period or re-tender rule given. Tourism Act sets these for resorts: buildings valued, paid within two years, new lessee pays the state. See explainer 10 |
| Pearl Residence and Henley | Separate residency-by-investment scheme designed with Henley & Partners (agreement July 2025), cited for Ayla. President, June 2026: no part of Ras Malé for Pearl Residence. Minister, Oct 2026: Ras Malé buyers may use the corporate residence visa; no PR or citizenship | Official claim | Henley agreement withheld under RTI; Pearl Residence bill at policy stage. See Other projects |
| How Eagle Hills was chosen | No tender. Housing Minister: Eagle Hills submitted a private-sector-initiated proposal (PSIP), accepted under section 10.22 of the public finance regulations | Official claim | Written reply to Galolhu North MP Mohamed Ibrahim, 15 Oct 2026. Proposal and its evaluation not published |
| Investment schedule and failure terms | Housing Minister: the investment schedule, and what happens if the project is not completed, will be set out in the definitive agreement | Deferred | Written reply, 15 Oct 2026. Not in the commercial terms as described |
| President’s answers, 20 Oct 2026 | First response to opposition criticism. State keeps full control; property cannot change hands without government knowledge; Israelis barred by law; no other religion practised; a Maldives Police station in the area; no school in the Eagle Hills area. Says Maldivians’ Ras Malé plots and flats are unaffected | Interview claims | “The Pulse”, President’s Office podcast; Edition, 20 Oct. Eagle Hills’ own material lists education facilities |
| Cap per nationality | President, 20 Oct, repeated 28 Oct: citizens of any single country may buy at most 25% of Eagle Hills’ Ras Malé properties; no cap for Maldivians. Israeli citizens barred from buying, renting or staying, enforced by nationality and KYC checks. Detail to be set in the real estate tourism bill | Proposed, not law | “The Pulse”, 20 Oct; PSM Nation Chat, 28 Oct 2026. Bill text unpublished |
| President’s answers, 28 Oct 2026 | No alcohol, pork or casinos in the development; mosques and the call to prayer. Rules to be stricter than at resorts. No school under foreign control; foreign buyers’ children follow existing rules for foreign pupils. Maldivian police and law apply in full. Full agreement to go to a Majlis standing committee once finalised. Real estate tourism bill to be published for about two weeks of public comment | Interview claims | PSM Nation Chat; Atoll Times, Edition, Maldives Independent, 29 Oct. President says the conditions will be written into the agreement. Differs from the minister’s account to scholars on 30 Sept, that hotels could serve alcohol under a Tourism Act licence. Neither agreement nor bill yet public |
| Eagle Hills and Ayla: shared bank board | Eagle Hills chairman Mohamed Alabbar chairs Zand Bank, Dubai. Talha Alhashimi sits on the Zand board and is founder and managing director of BluRock Group, whose Dubai company has been a shareholder in the Project Ayla leaseholder since April 2024 | Documented | Zand Bank governance report 2025; Maldives Independent and OCCRP, Oct 2026. No shared company between Eagle Hills and BluRock found. See the connection map |
| Majlis disclosure resolution | MDP MP Meekail Ahmed Naseem moved to require the agreement to be disclosed (emergency motion 5 Oct; resolution 12 Oct). Debated 21 Oct. Ruling PNC group leader Ibrahim Falah called it the most transparent project to date | Outcome pending | Atoll Times, Sun. Record the vote when reported |
| Opposition campaign | “Maldivian Land for Maldivians” campaign launched 19 Oct by opposition groups, led by former Home Minister Sheikh Imran Abdullah, calling for the project to be cancelled and for a referendum. MDP joined in November. Rally moved from 6 to 13 Nov. Campaign pledges a future government would annul the agreement without compensation if signed against public will | Reported | Atoll Times, Maldives Independent, 19 Oct–5 Nov 2026. See Positions |
| Referendum demand | MDP national council, 1 Nov (57 of 58 present): hold a referendum on giving the project to Eagle Hills; street action if no answer by 15 Nov. Resolution submitted to the Majlis, 2 Nov, asking that no land rights be created before the vote. MDP says it would accept the result | Refused by President, 9 Nov | Edition, 2 and 4 Nov; Maldives Independent, 5 Nov. President, 9 Nov: no referendum will be held; see “President on referendum”. MDP’s 15 Nov deadline for street action stands. MDP group leader says rule changes make even a debate vote unlikely. See Positions |
| Emaar as partner | Alabbar: Eagle Hills may share the development 50:50 with Emaar, the Dubai developer he founded | Interview claim | Reuters, cited by Maldives Independent, 4 Nov. Not in the commercial terms as described. Who holds the leases under the definitive agreement is not public |
| Leaked scholars’ meeting | Recording of the Infrastructure Minister’s late-September meeting with religious scholars, released 5 Nov: leases reset to 99 years on each sale; the master developer agreement to ban other religions’ festivals; terms negotiated directly with Alabbar. A state minister in the same leaks blamed opposition to the deal on India and the tourism industry | Reported | Adhadhu says it verified the recording; Maldives Independent, 6 Nov. No government denial reported as of 7 Nov |
| Foreign ownership amendment | Cabinet decided in September 2025 to amend the constitution so foreigners could own property in “real estate development zones” declared by the President: at least US$1 billion invested, 70% of land newly reclaimed, no citizenship rights. Reported stalled after April 2026 council elections | Draft, not submitted | Adhadhu, citing the decision and a draft (late Oct 2026). Article 251 still bars foreign ownership. A similar 2015 amendment was repealed unanimously in 2019 |
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