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Qatar / Transport

Ministerial decision to fix parking charges, areas soon

Published: 05 Jan 2024 - 08:41 am | Last Updated: 05 Jan 2024 - 08:45 am
File photo

File photo

Sanaullah Ataullah | The Peninsula

Doha, Qatar: A ministerial decision for fixing charges and areas among many more technicalities to regulate public parking is expected to be issued soon, said a top official.

The decision will be in implementing the Law No. 13 of 2021 regarding the regulation of vehicle parking, which authorises the Ministry of Municipality to regulate and operate public parking lots in Qatar.

“To implement the Law No. 13 of 2021, the Ministry of Municipality is preparing a draft ministerial decision which is about to be approved,” said Director of the Technical Office at the Ministry of Municipality Eng Tariq Al Tamimi.

Speaking to Qatar TV recently, he said that the decision will specify the parking charges, areas and some other technical conditions related to regulating public parking.

“The ministry in coordination with its partners is implementing a public parking management project. So far, 3,300 vehicle parking sensors have been installed in West Bay, Corniche and Central Doha in the first phase,” said Al Tamimi.

He said that now the work is going to cover the main roads and establish a system for enabling a smooth monitoring through CCTV cameras and equipment.

The management of vehicle parking in the country aims to achieve a number of positive indicators and contribute to improving the quality of life in cities and residential neighbourhoods.

The most prominent of these positive indicators are reducing congestion in crowded places by organising parking spaces and making optimal use of them. The project also aims to encourage the use of public transportation to reduce emissions, pollution, and congestion on the roads, increasing traffic safety rates and reducing violations related to incorrect parking.

This will also help in the optimal exploitation of the state’s resources of roads and land and increase the return on investment in infrastructure, which can be invested in development work, supporting the country’s economic growth and fighting the phenomenon of abandoned cars.

Work is underway to ensure a smart parking management system under the Smart Qatar Programme (TASMU) project, which addresses all points related to the mechanism of reserving parking, collecting charges for it, controlling violations and applying penalties following the law and ministerial decisions in this regard.

The Technical Office at the Ministry of Municipality worked to specify public parking to the proposed planning areas in the first phase in coordination with Ashghal to place electronic signboards and parking stickers.

This is in coordination with TASMU team at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and the project contractor to ensure the completion of the installation of the systems for smart parking management according to the contract.