Salik teams up with Emaar to develop parking management system at Dubai Mall

Toll gate operator seeks to diversify revenue streams and ease traffic congestion for mall visitors

The new parking system at Dubai Mall will use vehicle plate recognition to deduct fees from Salik user accounts. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Dubai toll operator Salik has teamed up with Emaar Malls to deliver a parking management system at Dubai Mall in a move aimed at diversifying revenue streams and easing traffic for visitors.

Under the terms of the agreement, Salik’s technology will be used for parking at the mall, according to a joint statement on Friday.

This will feature automatic fee collection for ticketless parking, using vehicle plate recognition to deduct fees from Salik user accounts based on rules defined by Emaar Malls.

The system is expected to be in operation at Dubai Mall by the third quarter of 2024, the companies said.

“The project is important for the company’s strategy to offer sustainable and smart mobility solutions to drivers in Dubai, as well as our objective to diversify into complimentary revenue streams,” said Ibrahim Al Haddad, chief executive and board member of Salik.

“The solution eliminates the need for gates or barriers at Dubai Mall, helping to minimise congestion and traffic for customers. We are looking forward to building on the success of this initiative to expand the offering to other locations around the city.”

Salik was established in its current form as a public joint stock company in June 2022. Toll use represents about 87 per cent of its revenue.

Since July 2022, Salik has been operating as a separate legal entity from the Roads and Transport Authority through a 49-year concession agreement.

In September this year, Salik completed one year as a listed entity.

Salik raised Dh3.73 billion ($1 billion) in September 2022 from its initial public offering, which was more than 49 times oversubscribed across all tranches, with total gross demand at Dh184.2 billion.

The Dubai government sold more than 1.867 billion shares in the company, or 24.9 per cent, at Dh2 a share. The government retained a 75.1 per cent stake after the sale of the stake.

Salik “sees a compelling opportunity to expand further and is actively exploring options for growth in the private parking market in Dubai”, the statement said.

The private parking market in Dubai is estimated to span more than 50,000 parking spaces, it said.

Salik will seek to offer access control for residential and institutional parking, such as malls and businesses, as well as a platform for fee collection using an app and registration plates.

It currently has more than two million registered active accounts and four million active vehicles, meaning that no major customer acquisition will be needed since more than 90 per cent of Dubai vehicles are already registered with it, the company said.

Salik will be responsible for designing, financing, developing, installing and managing the parking management system, while Dubai Mall will provide the required infrastructure, office space and car park maintenance.

“Salik has the ability to provide our customers a seamless journey when visiting Dubai Mall,” said Ahmed Al Matrooshi, executive board member of Emaar Properties and general director of Emaar Foundation.

“Parking will be easier and more user-friendly with the introduction of Salik's transportation solution and expertise.”

Salik’s expected revenue from the project will be determined after Emaar Malls finalises the business rules for the initiative.

The company reported a yearly increase of more than 5 per cent in its third-quarter profit, following record growth in revenue.

Net profit for the period jumped to Dh255 million, the company said in a regulatory filing to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares are traded.

Revenue grew by more than 14 per cent to about Dh509 million as its revenue-generating trips grew about 15 per cent to reach Dh111 million, the highest third-quarter performance since Salik commenced operations in 2007, supported by continued strong growth in tourism and residency.