The additional elevators installed in one of the Hiya towers have been put into operation 468 days after the contract was awarded under the first 100-day pledges of the government.

An official for the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) told Adhadhu that the additional elevators installed in the second Hiya tower went into operation on Sunday.

The official said the installation of additional elevators in some other towers was nearing completion. However, HDC does not know when these elevators can become operational after testing. The elevators include a stretcher elevator and a passenger elevator.

Shenyang Yuanda Intellectual Industry Group of China was contracted on February 12, 2024, to install 32 additional elevators in the 16 Hiya residential towers. The initial agreed-upon date for completion of the work was January 30, 2025.

However, the deadline was extended till April 15. The HDC took reporters to the area on May 9 and said the elevators would be installed by November.

Although the HDC said the work of installing elevators would be completed by November, the structure required to install the elevators in some of the towers has not yet started.

The installation of additional elevators in Hiya towers was included in the budget approved for last year as part of the government's 100-day agenda.

The amount budgeted at the time was MVR 200 million. However, the amount for the project was revised and written as MVR 108 million in the state budget for this year. The rest of the money is believed to be spent from the HDC budget.