The Public Procurement & Property Disposal Service has started identifying used vehicles from public offices that will be disposed of as scrap metal. Previously, old vehicles were either transferred to buyers for further use through auction or were abandoned altogether.

However, the technical document prepared by the Federal Transport Authority and approved by the Ministry of Finance in January enables the Service to identify which vehicles are to be auctioned off as scrap.

The new criterion has four requirements that outline which vehicles should be scrapped. Vehicles whose chassis are seriously damaged; old cars that served for 40 years or more and recently went out of use; cars with right-hand drive; and vehicles that have sustained over 60pc damage will be disposed of as scrap metal through auction.

The new scheme, initiated following the proposal from the Service, aims at protecting the environment from pollution and reducing traffic accidents caused by old cars, according to Tsewaye Muluneh, director-general at the Service; the only public office that has a mandate of disposing of vehicles.

The government has been devising laws to discourage the import and sale of used cars and has enacted an excise tax law, which imposes a hefty tax on used cars. The law levies a 105pc excise tax on cars aged two to four years and a 405pc tax on cars over seven years of age.

“It also aims at fulfilling the demand for scrap metal for industries,” said Tsewaye, who mentioned that a lack of clear laws was an impediment to her office's management of the disposal of these cars when it received requests from the public offices.

Data from the Public Procurement & Property Administration Agency shows that at least 10,000 vehicles owned by public institutions and universities have been mismanaged and were kept with no purpose.

As of the beginning of February, the Service has dispatched a circular to all public offices under its jurisdiction to send the list of old vehicles they wish to scrap. The new process will be initiated at 86 institutions that have been applying for vehicle disposal since 2015. Out of the total, 17 of them are located outside of the capital.

For the process of identifying and categorising the vehicles, the Service has hired four automotive experts. The process is expected to be finalised by May in two rounds.

"We want the public offices to get ready and wait for us," said Tsewaye.