Minister refutes claims of restoring Racing Association’s permit for Hulhumalé area, after revocation

The Minister of Transport has refuted reports that permission for the Racing and Drift Association to use a specific area in Hulhumalé, which was revoked on Friday, has been restored.

Responding to a question by RaajjeMV, Minister of Transport Mohamed Ameen revealed that it was false information and that no such information has been received by the ministry yet.

Speaking on the phone as he was leaving Sunday’s Cabinet meeting, the minister told RaajjeMV that he has not heard of such a thing and that he highly doubts such a decision could be reached without them being informed of it.

The permission granted to use a restricted area of Hulhumalé for the Racing and Drift Association was revoked on Friday.

This was announced by Fazul Rasheed, Managing Director of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) who took to social media platform ‘X’, revealing that the permission granted for the Racing and Drift Association to use a specific area in Hulhumalé on 19 October 2023, has been revoked and that the association has been notified of this decision.

Fazul’s announcement comes following the instruction given on Friday evening, to immediately revoke the permission granted on 19 October 2023, to use a specific area in Hulhumalé for racing and drifting.

Since then, the Racing Association of Maldives (RAM) has expressed concern over the government’s decision.

A reliable source told RaajjeMV that Sports Minister Abdulla Rafiu and Transport Minister Ameen held a meeting with the racing community on Saturday evening.

Following the meeting, the permission that was revoked on Friday has reportedly been reinstated.

The news came after the president instructed relevant authorities to implement eight measures to control vehicles speeding illegally, regulate the use of modified or inherently loud vehicles, and protect residential areas, on 6 September 2024.