Revocation of leases will free up 1,000 parking slots in Male’

The revocation of parking spaces leased out from Male’ City during the mayorship of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu will free up around 1,000 parking slots in the congested Maldivian capital, according to the city council.

The practice of leasing parking spaces from the streets of Male’ was initiated during President Muizzu’s tenure as the mayor of the capital city, for a fee of MVR 1,500 for private cars and MVR 700 for taxis. The initiative sparked allegations of corruption, with some alleging that the slots were allocated in exchange for bribes.

The practice also worsened the parking crisis in the city, where parking spaces were already scarce.

But the Transport Ministry has now informed the city council that parking zones cannot be leased. The ministry instructed the council to immediately halt the lease of slots, and to revoke existing leases.

When questioned about how the city council will be enforcing this decision, Mayor Adam Azim told Sun on Tuesday that some 1,000 four-wheeled vehicle parking slots in public roads had been leased to private individuals.

Azim said the slots will be open for public parking at the end of September.

“From that point on, no one will be able to claim a parking zone as their own. All zones will be open to public. All parking zones in Male’ will be open to public,” he said.

Azim said that the city council is considering introducing some changes to ensure that more people are able to avail of parking zones in high-traffic areas such as schools and hospitals.

The details of this will be announced at a later date, he said.

Lack of parking space is a serious issue in Male’, home to tens of thousands of people.

The number of vehicles in the city far exceeds the urban carrying capacity of the existing road and parking infrastructure, leading to severe congestion and other related issues.

However, the problem has remained largely ignored.

While some areas of the city previously featured mechanical vertical parking infrastructure, these facilities were never utilized.

Currently, the city council is creating new parking spaces by vacating cemeteries in Male’ city. The Maafannu ward cemetery has been cleared to construct a parking lot and a public square. Additionally, a section of the Galolhu ward cemetery, where the mortuary is located, has been cleared for parking.

However, these actions have drawn significant public concern regarding the desecration of cemeteries. The Fatwa Council has also issued a statement indicating that cemeteries cannot be vacated for such purposes.