The Malé City Council has been given authority to penalise violations of construction safety codes in Hulhumalé, the capital city’s urban extension. 

Deputy Mayor Shamaau Shareef said that the Housing Development Corporation, the island’s administrative authority, will be inspecting sites and forwarding results to the city council. 

The deputy mayor said that the corporation will be making the case for violations, and the council is to follow their direction, after discussion and at discretion. 

Shamaau further said that the President’s Office will be formalising this arrangement shortly, and a council office will be established in Hulhumalé. 

A 44-year-old expatriate worker at a construction site in Hulhumalé was fatally injured from a piece of debris falling on him while at work at the site; a similar accident, also with a fatal outcome, was reported in Hulhumalé on Saturday. 

Safety at construction sites in the heavily congested capital city and its administrative divisions has been a scrutinised issue after a fatal accident in December, 2018. 

The city council and the government had launched an inspection of over 400 construction sites, which has now been completed.