Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) has said that the company cannot decrease the downpayment for the MPL flats.

MPL made the statement during the Parliament Petition Committee meeting on Monday, following a petition submitted by 484 MPL staff, requesting a decrease in the downpayment.

MPL's Chief Financing Officer, Mohamed Muiz, said any amount decreased from the downpayment on flats is an amount the company has to borrow from banks. As such, he said that while MPL understands the concerns of the staff, the company must prioritise their financial stability and not rely on banks.

MPL has offered three options for staff to pay the downpayment on the flats. The first option is to pay 20% of the flat price in nine months - MVR 160,000 for a 1 room apartment and MVR 300,000 for two room apartments.

The second option is to pay 15% of the flat price in one year - MVR 120,000 for 1 room apartments and MVR 216,000 for two room apartments.

The third option is to pay MVR 40,000 for 1 room apartments and MVR 50,000 for two room apartments in a month and the remaining over a nine-month period.

MPL staff have not found any of these options agreeable.

"We need to charge a downpayment on the apartments because we have MVR 123 million in payments owed to contractors. We are predicting that we will need to pay MVR 80 million to the contractors within 3 months of completion. We currently have MVR 104 million in funds for this. However, we have MVR 52 million in payments owed to HDC as well", Muiz told the Parliament Petition Committee.