Maldives Transport Authority has been forced to switch off all traffic lights in the capital Male after lights lead to increased traffic congestion in the most densely populated city in the world.
Chairman of the Transport Authority Abdul Rasheed Nafiz told Avas that traffic lights have been put out of commission after police said the lights had been the cause of traffic jams in busy intersections in the capital.
Nafiz also said finding spare parts for the outdated system were next to impossible prompting the traffic committee decision to switch off the lights for now.
"The streets in Male are being re-developed. Turning on the traffic lights cause issues for this as well, and the police have also requested that we keep them switched off due to the traffic jams. The other issue is that it is a very outdated system. Spare parts are no longer available, there is nothing to be done in case they get damaged," Nafiz said.
He also said that a fresh solution for traffic congestion would be looked into once the housing ministry completes the project to re-develop the major roads in the capital.
Nafiz revealed that the new systems would be equipped with the latest hardware, smart traffic lights and cameras.
It has been around a month since the traffic lights have been switched off in the major streets of Male.
