The Ministry of Finance has reported that travel expenses for this year have surpassed the allocated budget by MVR 3 million, bringing the total cost to MVR 231 million.
According to the ministry’s weekly financial report, MVR 228 million was initially set aside in the budget for travel costs, with no additional funds allocated in the supplementary budget.
The breakdown of the budget reveals MVR 69 million was earmarked for foreign travel, MVR 54 million for air travel, and MVR 45 million for sea travel.
This year’s travel expenditure reflects a 7 percent increase compared to the same period last year when MVR 216 million had been spent.
So far, the government has spent MVR 40 billion of the state budget. As in previous years, the largest share of expenses—MVR 28 billion, or 70 percent of total expenditure—has gone towards salaries and operational costs of government offices.
Following the approval of the supplementary budget last month, the total state budget for the year is projected to reach MVR 55 billion.
