SJ to rebuild Zikura Mosque to three stories in CSR initiative

SJ Construction has signed an agreement to rebuild the Zikura Mosque to three stories as a CSR initiative.

The agreement was signed by Islamic Minister Dr. Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed and SJ Construction’s director Shihad Ibrahim on Wednesday morning.

According to Shaheem, SJ Construction will be rebuilding the mosque, located in the Machangolhi district of Male’ City, to three stories.

He noted that the mosque is located in a densely populated area, and making it important to increase the mosque’s capacity.

It was one of three agreements to build mosques under CSR initiatives.

On Wednesday, the Islamic Ministry also signed agreements with two other companies to build two mosques in Hulhumale’ under CSR initiatives; Aleem Foundation and Lisa Maldives.

According to Shaheem, the two mosques will have the capacity to accommodate between 2,000 and 3,000 worshippers.

Shaheem thanked the three companies for taking the initiative to build mosques at their own expense.

In July 2018, during the last months of former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s administration, SJ Construction was awarded a government contract to build a mosque and a 10-story office complex on the land where the Zikura Mosque is located.

But the contract was terminated by former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s administration in 2019, after an investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) uncovered corruption in the award of the contract.

However, the state failed to prove the case in court.

In 2018, SJ Construction received MVR 30 million as acquisition coast for the Zikura Mosque project. However, after the company sued the state for wrongful termination of contract, the state filed a counter-suit seeking the MVR 30 million.

Both sides later reached an out of court settlement, in which SJ Construction received a contract to build a mosque in Hulhumale’.