The Coastal and Reef Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2026 passed the People’s Majlis on a 68–4 vote at 14:22 MVT, after an 11-hour debate that stretched across two sitting days.

The bill directs Rf 5.2 billion — roughly $340 million — into a ring-fenced fund for seawall and reef-reinforcement work across 14 inhabited atolls over three fiscal years. Co-financing of $110 million from the World Bank was confirmed by Climate Minister Aminath Shauna in her closing speech.

The money is not all new

Of the Rf 5.2 billion headline, roughly Rf 3.4 billion is re-scoped from the 2025 Climate Resilience envelope. The genuinely new commitment is closer to Rf 1.8 billion ($118m), spread over three fiscal years — a shape that matches the co-financing the World Bank telegraphed in January.

Why four said no

The four no-votes came from three Jumhooree MPs and one independent, all citing procurement concerns rather than the underlying policy. “Our three nays are against the procurement architecture,” Jumhooree’s Hussain Abdulla said on the floor. “The fund, the science, the list of atolls — we have no quarrel with any of that.”

Disbursement begins Q3 2026, pending final procurement rules from the Ministry of Finance. Our reconstruction of the last month inside the drafting committee, including the Friday-morning meeting between Shauna and the Finance minister on 22 March, is published separately today.