Gov’t Grants Six-Month Re-Registration Period for Out-of-Zone Vehicles in Malé

The Maldivian government has announced a six-month grace period for vehicle owners in Malé who have out-of-zone registrations to re-register their vehicles within the Malé zone. 

This decision, aimed at addressing ongoing traffic and parking issues in the capital, was announced by the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, Mohamed Ameen.

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In a press briefing, Minister Ameen highlighted the growing problem of vehicles being brought into Malé without proper registration for the zone. To tackle this, the government, in collaboration with the Housing Development Corporation (HDC), will designate a specific land plot where vehicle owners must take their vehicles for re-registration. A 40-day period has been allocated for owners to transport their vehicles to this designated area.

He further explained that owners who choose not to relocate their vehicles to the registered zone would still be given the six-month period to either re-register the vehicle for the Malé zone or return it to its original registered area.

Minister of Homeland Security and Technology, Ali Ihusan, also addressed the media, warning that vehicles identified as being registered to other zones but driven in Malé after the 40-day period would be towed. He urged vehicle owners to take advantage of the six-month re-registration period offered by the government.

This issue gained attention following a serious incident last month when a speeding car, registered to a different zone, struck a pedestrian in Hulhumalé Phase 2, causing significant injuries and damage. The vehicle, which bore a B-zone registration plate, should not have been driven in Malé, where only vehicles with A-zone plates are permitted.

In response, authorities have already towed several sports cars, improperly registered in other zones, from parking areas near Hulhumalé’s Central Park. The government’s new measures aim to provide vehicle owners with an opportunity to correct their registrations and avoid penalties.

The Vehicle Registration Regulation stipulates that vehicles with more than two wheels must be registered in the zone where the owner has a designated garage for parking. However, due to the difficulty in finding garage spaces in Malé, many vehicle owners have resorted to registering their vehicles in other zones, a practice prohibited by the regulation.