Eagle Hills to Begin Construction of 5,000 Housing Units in First Quarter of 2027

Eagle Hills is set to construct 5,000 housing units in Hulhumalé at an estimated value of USD 500 million, with construction expected to begin in the first quarter of 2027, according to Finance and Public Enterprises Minister Hassan Zareer.

Minister Zareer said the housing component forms part of the wider Maldives Waterfront and Marina project in Ras Malé and would not require an upfront financial commitment from the Maldivian government.

Speaking on state media’s Raajje Miadhu programme, the minister said the arrangement would see Eagle Hills undertake the construction of the housing units, while the government would take ownership of the completed units.

Minister Muththalib, in an interview with online news outlet Mihaaru, separately described the arrangement as contractor-financed. Under that structure, Eagle Hills would initially finance construction, with the government making payments after the units had been completed and handed over to the State during the sales phase.

The government has not publicly detailed how much it would ultimately pay Eagle Hills for the 5,000 homes or how the payments would be structured over the course of the project.

Questions about the financial arrangements, including whether payments for the housing units would be funded by revenue generated from their sale, is still unclear. 

The agreement has drawn criticism from opposition figures, who have alleged that Ras Malé has effectively been “sold off” to Eagle Hills.

Zareer rejected that characterisation, saying the arrangement operates within the Maldives’ existing legal framework and involves a 99-year lease, similar to arrangements used for resorts and other investments.

He said the project does not involve the outright sale of Maldivian land and that the development would remain a state-owned asset held in the name of the Government of Maldives.

The distinction between ownership of the land and the rights granted to the developer under the lease is central to the government’s description of the agreement.

The government and Eagle Hills signed the agreement for the proposed Maldives Waterfront and Marina on Tuesday. The project is planned as a large-scale integrated tourism, residential and commercial development in Ras Malé.

The Maldivian government has described the development as a project with an estimated value of around USD 20 billion across multiple phases.

Joint Press Release pic.twitter.com/rXbad5Dfux

— Ministry of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Dev. (@MIHUDmv) September 21, 2026

Eagle Hills, however, has described the project differently in its own public communications. On its official website, the company referred to the development as a USD 12 billion global destination, in announcing the signing of the commercial terms agreement with the Government of Maldives.

Eagle Hills chairman Mohamed Alabbar also addressed the scale of the development in an interview with the Khaleej Times, saying: “It’s quite a sizable project, so it could reach about USD 20 billion when it comes to investment.”

The project is expected to be developed in multiple phases, encompassing tourism, residential and commercial components. The 5,000 housing units are among the first major commitments publicly associated with the development.