Minister of Economic Development, Transport and Trade Mohamed Saeed stated today that the biggest effort under the new Land Transport Act will be to establish a state-of-the-art traffic monitoring center capable of monitoring the entirety of Male' at all times.

During the media briefing held at the President's Office, Minister Saeed said the government's aim is to establish the center as soon as possible and that it will be done even if they have to acquire foreign aid. He said that arrangements such as monitoring individual roads and redirecting traffic with modern resources will be established at the center.

"Establishing a state-of-the-art traffic monitoring center that covers all of Male' and monitors in real time will be one of the biggest projects under the Land Transport Act. This is one area in the act the government will prioritize, even if foreign aid is required," said Saeed.

According to the minister, the center will also analyze whether any modern resources can be used by police to redirect traffic after looking at individual roads in Male'.

Under the act, digitalizing matters related to traffic as much as possible and amending policies for that purpose will be focused on, said Saeed.

Parliament passed the Land Transport Bill on 26th August and has been ratified since, transferring all matters related to land transport in the Malé region to a separate office operating under the Ministry of Transport.

According to the eighth chapter added to the bill titled "Special Principles Applying to the Malé Region," the purpose of this chapter is to address the difficulty in managing traffic in the Malé region due to its dense population and high number of vehicles compared to other islands in the Maldives. Therefore, the introduction of the chapter also notes that the principles and conditions set out in the bill will be implemented differently in the Malé region.

To execute the principles in this chapter, a dedicated office named the "Greater Malé Transport and Mobility Office" will be established.

The new act defines penalties for those who drive dangerously and special principles for reducing vehicles.