The plot thickens over Mayor Azim’s land registry
After waiting almost two years for publication of the Malé Land Registry, Villimalé councillor Nahula Ali is still searching for answers.
Artwork: Dosain
03 Dec, 3:56 PM
When Malé City Council released its long-awaited land register on 20 November, 2025 – 678 days later than expected – like many, I rushed to examine the list, especially the allocations concerning my constituency of Villimalé. I was deeply troubled by what I found, and by what I didn’t.
Six of the nine projects that had been announced, publicly bid, and officially awarded in the lead-up to the presidential election were missing from the list published by Mayor Adam Azim. Meanwhile, other projects appeared under the names of individuals close to the council leader.
Two projects did appear as expected. One was a commercial building project announced on 27 February 2022, in which Red Wave Pvt Ltd received a 5,000 square foot plot for 25 years under the council’s development plan. The second was the modern children’s park, for which One On Maldives Pvt Ltd was allocated 6,000 acres for 25 years. Both were correctly included in the register. But from here, the record becomes murky.
Under a public announcement published on 2 March 2023, contractors were invited to bid for a futsal stadium project and, in a separate announcement on the same day, for an outdoor food kiosk and a women’s market. By 30 March, these projects had gone through a formal process, with the council signing an agreement with Meditime Pvt Ltd to construct the futsal stadium and a commitment of 6,000 acres for 25 years. Yet the land allocated for this agreement is completely absent from the register.
Also on 30 March 2023, the Council finalised an agreement with BizNet Pvt Ltd for the women’s market and outdoor food kiosk, awarding 5,000 acres in Villimalé for 25 years. Similarly, this allocation does not appear on the gazetted list.
More discrepancies arise. Just four days later, on 3 April 2023, the Council entered into an agreement with Vinova Maldives Pvt Ltd, a company owned by Mohammed Wisham – a nephew of Mayor Azim – for the construction of another women’s market in Villimalé. Vinova was promised 6,000 acres on the eastern side of the beach for 25 years. The land was reportedly handed over but this is not included in the register. It is important here to note that Vinova did not even submit a bid for the women’s market project.
Digging further into the published list, I found another set of projects had disappeared entirely from the register despite having been approved in the 117th official jalsa of the Council.
Under the Malé Public Facilities Upgrade Projects, and following an announcement on 29 August 2023, several agreements were signed as the presidential election approached. This land was handed over under Mayor Azim’s authority, but the plots related specifically to Villimalé – including the basketball court, volleyball court, handball court and outdoor gym – were not included in the published land register.
Among these missing allocations are plots 32 and 33, given for 20 years to Trinity Travels and Tours Pvt Ltd. Also omitted is the land awarded to IRK Pvt Ltd in September 2023 for a 20 year agreement to construct a basketball court’. Similarly absent is the commercial area block C and plot 41, allocated to Mary Jugo under an agreement signed on 27 September 2023 for the construction of an outdoor gym.
While searching for these missing entries, there was one entry I was surprised to find in the register: plot 40 is listed as having been awarded to Selkouth for 20 years to build a handball court. Yet Selkouth never submitted a bid for this project, raising more serious questions. In the bidding phase, Mary Jugo won both the handball court and outdoor gym projects.
Here’s the list of the officially announced Villimalé projects in full, with an indication of which have appeared on the Land Registry:
Red Wave Pvt Ltd; commercial building; 5,000 square foot plot for 25 years ✅
One On Maldives Pvt Ltd; modern children’s park; 6,000 acres for 25 years ✅
Meditime Pvt Ltd; futsal stadium; 6,000 acres for 25 years ❌
BizNet Pvt Ltd; women’s market & outdoor food kiosk; 5,000 acres for 25 years ❌
Vinova Maldives Pvt Ltd; women’s market; 6,000 acres for 25 years ❌
Trinity Travels and Tours Pvt Ltd; plots 32 and 33 for 20 years ❌
IRK Pvt Ltd; basketball court; (UNCLEAR) for 20 years ❌
Mary Jugo; outdoor gym; commercial area Block C and Plot 41 for (UNCLEAR) years ❌
Selkouth; handball court; plot 40, for 20 years ❌
A clear pattern emerges: publicly announced projects underwent bidding processes, agreements were signed, and in some cases, land was even handed over. Yet when the official register was published, many of these plots simply vanished while other projects reappeared with the names of individuals closely tied to Mayor Azim – even when they had not taken part in the bidding. In several cases the size, location and identity of the plots appear to have been altered or obscured.
As I continue to examine the land register as published, one fact becomes increasingly clear: the discrepancies are too extensive, too consistent and too conveniently aligned with the interests of the Mayor’s associates for them to be dismissed as administrative oversight.
Nahula Ali currently serves as the Malé City Councillor representing Villimale (T18). She was first elected to the seat in the 2021 local council elections as a candidate of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM). In 2022, she and her mother were expelled from PPM following a disciplinary committee decision citing alleged misconduct, after which she continued her term on the council independently.
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