The Housing Development Corporation (HDC) has decided to issue land from Hulhumale' to those who want to relocate their Male' garages to safer areas. HDC made the decision following discussions with the government.
HDC has issued policies on allocating the land, including the sizes of the plots.
Existing Male' garages less than 1000 sqft will be given a 1000 sqft plot of land from Hulhumale'. Plots measuring 1300 sqft will be issued for existing garages larger than 1000 sqft.
In addition, HDC has decided to allow two-story garages to be built on these plots.
Most garages currently operating in the city are run in small spaces, usually in parts of residential homes. While most garages offer welding and tinkering services, dangerous incidents have happened in the past due to the use of various chemicals in the garages.
"While it is extremely dangerous to undertake work of this nature in residential areas, the corporation believes that the allocation of land for these garages in Hulhumale' will be a major solution to this problem. This is a joint decision taken by the corporation and the government as part of the government's efforts to reduce dangerous incidents in the city," the HDC said in a statement today.
HDC's decision comes while a fire that broke out in a garage in Maafannu ward of Male' City killed ten people who resided in an accommodation block above the garage earlier this month. Following the incident, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said there would be no chemical warehouses in the city and that garages and workshops would be relocated to non-residential areas.
The Male' City Council has previously said that it had monitored accommodations for expatriate workers, garages, and workshops in the city and shared the information with the authorities. However, the council received little cooperation from the authorities, the council said.
