15 years ago on 12^th May, Hulhumalé witnessed the very first settlement in the city with 200 families.  At that time, the city had just 210 apartments, 120 land plots, and 34 commercial units. The day has since been annually celebrated as Hulhumalé Day by the residents of the city.

Although the official inauguration of the city occurred in the year 2004, the revolutionary project initiated in 1997 with its land reclamation. As the reclamation progressed, the very first buildings in Hulhumalé were developed; Masjidul Amaanee (mosque), Fareediyya School, and residential developments. The reclamation of the 188-hectare land of Hulhumalé Phase 1 was completed in the year 2002.

Since its first settlement in 2004, up until its 15^th anniversary this Sunday, Hulhumalé has surpassed major milestones and is now a project that has never before been witnessed in the history of Maldives. The city is currently home to over 50,000 people, a significant growth since the initial population of just 1,000.

Several other developments followed, to cater to the continuously increasing population in Hulhumalé. The city became home to some major commercial developments, providing 137,268.51 sqft of commercial space. One of the major commercial developments in Hulhumalé is the Centro shopping mall which accommodates 30 separate business units.

The secret to success of Hulhumalé project lies in the long-term vision when developing the city’s masterplan. The developers of Hulhumalé put great emphasis on ensuring the city remains a sustainable and enjoyable city to all residents and visitors. With this in mind, Hulhumalé phase 1 was developed with an open space index of 2.50, to ensure that the residents of Hulhumalé lead a healthy lifestyle. Including parks, green strips, and open sports areas, Hulhumalé provides a total of 50,000 sqft of open space areas.

With the ever growing demand for residency in Hulhumalé, the city introduced the second phase in the year 2015. Developments have already begun in order to welcome settlers to the currently uninhabited 244 hectares of land. With the completion of the entire project, Hulhumalé is believed to be home to a population of over 240,000 people. Hulhumalé Phase 2 is also planned to accommodate some unique developments, such as the financial district, IT district, tourism island and heritage island.

Hulhumalé, that has also gained popularity as the City of Hope, offers a promising future of unique developments and progress to the Maldives in varying fields of economy, technology, and tourism.