HDC to lease land from Hulhumale for scrap metal trade

Housing Development Corporation (HDC) on Wednesday announced that it has decided to lease out land from Hulhumale for scrap metal businesses.

HDC said in a statement on Wednesday night that it has decided to lease out the land for scrap metal business as a large number of people have been selling and keeping scrap metal in different parts of Hulhumale. According to the corporation, it has come to light that some people involved in the trade are misusing public places like the roads and the pavements.

HDC has decided to allot short-term land to scrap metal businesses away from residential areas. HDC will allot the land:

With this, the HDC has decided to take action against scrap metal traders using public places.

One of the main objectives of such land allotment is to prevent the sale of stolen scrap metal, according to HDC, which is common and is being traded in various parts of Hulhumale by stealing and trading in it.

"One of the objectives of such allotment of land is to identify those involved in the theft of such materials," the HDC statement said.

In 2021, a case of theft of cables meant to supply electricity to Hiyaa flats in Hulhumale Phase II came to light. This time it came to the notice of HDC through an internal audit of the company. The company also investigated the matter as it suspected the involvement of an HDC employee.

In October, a similar incident was reported in Hulhumale Phase I, in which electricity cables buried were broken and stolen.