A yard, forty people and a programme
We are a main contractor. We carry our own trades because waiting on somebody else's is what breaks a date.
From one block laying crew to forty people
Hirigaa started in 2009 as a block laying crew of six taking work from bigger contractors in Male. We took our first whole building in 2012 and have not subcontracted a frame since.
Carrying our own trades is the decision everything else rests on. A programme only holds if the plumber turns up the week the drawings say, and the only way to promise that is for the plumber to work for us. It costs more in a quiet month and it is why our dates mean something in a busy one.
The yard moved to the Hulhumale industrial zone in 2017, which is where the steel is cut and bent, the shuttering is kept and the island loads are made up. Anything going to an atoll leaves from there on the scheduled boats, packed for a week at sea rather than for a lorry ride.
The engineers
Ibrahim Haleem
Started the block laying crew in 2009 and still prices every job over two million rufiyaa himself. Walks every second snag list.
Ahmed Munawwar
Runs the Male and Hulhumale sites and writes the programme on the wall every Sunday. The number clients actually ring.
Mariyam Sharufa
Prices the steel off the schedule and checks every frame drawing before it reaches the yard. Handles the island load planning.
How the money works
How long does a quotation take?
Five working days for a house or a small building, and up to two weeks for anything with a structural drawing we have to price steel off.
We price material, labour and plant separately, so when something changes you can see exactly what moved.
How are payments staged?
Against work done rather than against dates. A deposit to mobilise, then payments at agreed stages such as foundation, each slab, roof, first fix and handover.
We invoice for the stage after it has been inspected, not before, and the final five per cent is held until the snag list is closed.
What happens if material prices move?
The quotation says which items are fixed and which are subject to the market, and cement and steel are always in the second list.
If a price moves we show you the supplier invoice. We do not add a percentage to a figure you cannot check.
The yard in Hulhumale
Come and see the steel being cut. It is the fastest way to judge a contractor.
Hulhumale 23000
Maldives
Bring the drawings to the yard
Saturday to Thursday, 7am to 5pm. Ask for Ibrahim.