Urbanco said on Thursday that 31 plots of land have been sold to businesses from Thilafushi, an artificial island under development as an industrial hub.
Urbanco announced the sale of land from Thilafushi for industrial purposes in February. Maldivian businesses could own the purchased land while foreign businesses registered in the country could lease land for 99 years.
Asked how many plots have been sold to date, Urbanco told Adhadhu that plots have been conditionally awarded to 72 businesses that expressed interest.
Land sale agreements have been signed with 31 businesses that made the payment. Legal processes at court have also concluded for some of the land sale transactions.
The minimum price proposed for the Thilafushi land was MVR 1,700 per square feet. All of the plots sold so far were bought by local businesses. No foreign company has submitted a proposal to buy any of the plots of land on offer, Urbanco said.
According to the Thilafushi masterplan, a further 151 hectares will be reclaimed to expand the island. The newly reclaimed land will be designated for six main purposes: a power plant, oil storage, office buildings, commercial harbor, recreation areas and land for industrial uses.
Urbanco started reclamation under the project in four areas last month, including 71.5 hectares of land in Area "A," 39.6 hectares of land in Area "B," 5.9 hectares of land in Area "E" and 0.73 hectares of land in Area "F."
The Thilafushi reclamation work was contracted to the China Harbor Engineering Company Ltd.
