President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has repeated his statement that some projects have been delayed due to the shortage of boulder rocks and that the issue is being resolved.

The president made these remarks while speaking to the community of Vaadhoo island in Raa atoll during his ongoing tour of some islands of the atoll.

The government has been citing several different reasons for not proceeding with projects on different occasions. Although projects have been stalled since coming to power, the 2024 state budget, including allocations for projects, has been spent and exhausted. However, the government has withheld the details of these expenditures. Previously, the government had been asserting that projects were not progressing due to lack of adequate budget.

During his previous trip to islands of Huvadhoo Atoll, in a speech delivered while speaking to residents of Rathafandhoo island of Gaaf Dhaal atoll, the president claimed that the project to protect the eroding area of that island was delayed due to lack of materials needed for the work and financial constraints. The president had started speaking in this manner at a time public criticism had increased due to claims that projects cannot be implemented due to “lack of funds”.

Speaking in Vaadhoo on Tuesday, the president pledged to find a quick solution to the issue of coastal erosion on the island. Discussing the reason for the lack of progress in the harbor work on the island, he said that placing boulder rocks is the biggest part of the project. The president also said that this could not be done due to problems in the supply of boulder rocks. The president said that efforts is currently underway to resolve this issue through discussions with the Ministry of Finance and State Trading Organization (STO). Although the president said that this would be resolved by attaining boulder rocks in bulk, he did not disclose the current stage of the work or a date by which it would be completed.

However, the president has assured that due to the shortage of boulder rocks, coastal protection and harbor work in some islands of the Maldives have been halted, and once boulder rocks become available, the halted work will be resumed and continued.

Speaking at the meeting held in Vaadhoo, the president highlighted the issues that the people of the island have been sharing with the government and the difficulties faced by the island.

As such, shedding light on the allocation of land plots from the island as per the assurance he had given earlier, he noted that difficulties have arisen in allocating land plots due to the area where the island's waste dump is located. Assuring that this would be resolved, the president said that as the waste dump issue is resolved, a comprehensive solution would be provided for the waste management problem faced by the island. The president also noted that with the resolution of the waste issue, the issue of not being able to allocate land plots from the island would be resolved. Although the president said he would resolve said issue, he did not explain why the issue has not been resolved so far as per the assurance he had given earlier.

Speaking in Vaadhoo, the president promised to complete the work of the island’s school and address some other needs of the island community.