YANGON—The Yangon municipal administration plans to reintroduce parking fees in six downtown townships of the country’s commercial capital after installing “smart” car parks.
The Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) announced at a regular press conference on Nov. 18 that it is currently evaluating six bids submitted by companies in response to a request for tenders to build smart car parks in the townships.
”Now, we are analyzing the tenders [submitted by] the companies. One of them will selected to install the smart car parks,” said U Lin Khaing, secretary of the YCDC’s bridge subcommittee.
When asked by the media for the identities of the companies, details of the tender process and technical details of the parking facilities, the YCDC officials said they didn’t have that precise information available.
They said parking fees at the facilities would be set at 200, 300 and 500 kyats per hour, depending on the type of car park.
The YCDC gave the tendering companies flexibility in terms of the proposed designs of the smart car parks, and will award the contract to the company that makes the most convincing presentation, committee member Daw May May Thwe said.
Parking fees and the renting of parking spaces downtown were prohibited by the YCDC under the previous government in 2014.
It suspended plans to reintroduce parking fees on two earlier occasions, in 2017 and 2018, due to problems with the implementation, and public objections.
In many areas of downtown, however, vehicles owners are forced to pay illegal fees to unauthorized vendors.
Asked why the YCDC is moving to reintroduce parking fees, committee member Daw May May Thwe told The Irrawaddy the municipal body wants to tackle traffic congestion in the city, while also looking for ways to increase its revenue.
In May, Yangon Region Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein said smart car parks would solve Yangon’s traffics jams by clearing the streets of haphazardly parked vehicles.
Yangon regional lawmaker Daw Kyi Pyar, who represents Kyauktada Township in downtown Yangon, told The Irrawaddy on Monday she welcomes the setting up of smart car parks, believing they will ease the city’s gridlock.
She added that car owners will be charged to park in the affected areas during office hours, between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., but would be able to park for free at night and in the early mornings.
Of the more than 1 million vehicles registered nationwide, about 600,000 are registered in Yangon.
