The project to install additional elevators in the Hiyaa towers—a key pledge of the current administration’s first 100 days—remains unfinished, more than two years and four months after the contract was awarded.
The contract to install 32 elevators across the 16 Hiyaa towers was awarded to China’s Shenyang Yuanda Intellectual Industry Group Co. Ltd. on February 12, 2024. At the time, the initial completion date was set for January 30, 2025.
Following a failure to meet that deadline, the completion date was rescheduled to April 15, 2025. However, when it became clear that this target would also be missed, the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) organized a press briefing at the Hiyaa site on April 9, 2025, announcing that all elevators would be operational by the end of November, 2025.
Despite these assurances, elevator installation has yet to be completed across all towers. HDC stated that work has been finalized in all buildings except for Tower 16.
"Elevators in Hiyaa Towers 1 through 15 are complete and in operation. Work is currently ongoing for the elevators in Tower 16," said Mohamed Siraj, Assistant Manager of Public Relations at HDC.
The installation of additional elevators in the Hiyaa flats was initiated as part of the government’s "100-day" roadmap, with funding allocated in the 2024 state budget.
The project was originally budgeted at MVR 200 million. However, in the revised budget approved for last year, the state’s direct expenditure was reduced to MVR 108 million, with the remaining costs expected to be covered by HDC.
The contract with the Chinese firm was signed at a rate of MVR 8.8 million per elevator, bringing the total cost per tower to MVR 17.6 million for the two additional units.
