According to a special audit report released by the Auditor General's Office, the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) has suffered a loss of between MVR 14.85 billion and MVR 15.93 billion due to the issuance of free land plots from Hulhumalé Phase 2 and Phase 3 under the "Binveriya" scheme, which was carried out during the administration of former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih (Ibu).

The Auditor General's Office released the special audit report last Thursday detailing the financial damage caused to HDC regarding the land plots issued from Hulhumalé in 2023 under the Binveriya scheme.

The report stated that 2,841,400 square feet of land owned by the corporation was allocated under the scheme. It noted that the resulting loss should be evaluated based on the potential price those land plots would have fetched if sold at market rates.

Accordingly, the report estimated that if the lands designated by the government to be given as free state-owned plots from Hulhumalé Phase 2 and Phase 3 had been sold through competitive bidding to generate revenue at market rates, the corporation would have received between MVR 14,847,279,200 and MVR 15,932,847,200.

According to the report, the 188 land plots issued to 473 individuals from Hulhumalé Phase 2 are comparable to premium "beachside plots" and could have been sold at the prices of such premium locations. The total area of these plots amounts to 347,600 square feet, which would have generated MVR 2.5 billion if sold at market rates. Additionally, 521 other land plots, totaling 909,250 square feet, were issued to 1,166 individuals from Phase 2. The audit report estimates that HDC would have received MVR 4.9 billion if these plots were sold at market rates. Furthermore, 699 land plots, totaling an area of 1,584,550 square feet, were issued to 2,481 individuals from Hulhumalé Phase 3.

The audit report states that HDC would have received MVR 8.4 billion if the plots in Phase 3 had been sold at market rates.

The Audit Office stated that the value of these lands was estimated based on the prices fetched by comparable plots sold by HDC through competitive bidding processes between 2022 and 2024.