Dubai: Salik, the Dubai toll-gate operator and one of the best performers on DFM this year, is opening up a new revenue stream, through a deal with Emaar Malls. This will see it offer a 'seamless' parking management system at The Dubai Mall.
Salik’s technology will be deployed for a 'barrier-free' parking experience for mall customers. It will bing about automatic fee collection for ticketless parking, by using 'vehicle plate recognition to deduct fees' from the Salik user accounts. (This will be based on business rules defined by Emaar Malls.)
What does all this mean for shoppers at the Mall? Easier movements into and out once done, and they won't have to go to payment collection kiosks and machines.
The system is to be operational at The Dubai Mall by Q3-2024 - Salik’s revenue will be be determined after Emaar Malls' finalizes the business rules for this project.
Salik will handle the design, financing, developing, installing and managing of the parking management system at the Mall.
Smart solutions
According to Ibrahim Sultan Al Haddad, CEO of Salik Company, “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.
"Salik is ideally placed to provide this seamless and convenient customer journey, with the solution eliminating the need for gates or barriers at Dubai Mall, helping to minimise congestion and traffic for the customers."
At the time of its IPO last year, the company had hinted it would use technology extensively to create new revenue prospects beyond new toll-gates in Dubai. It had mentioned alliances with marketers and brand owners for 'selective' pushing of promotional messages.
We estimate that there are over 50,000 paid parking slots in Dubai," said Al Haddad. "There is limited research today, and we may commission an in-depth market study in the future to identify areas of opportunity."
Kicking off new growth possibilities
The Emaar Malls' deal is thus part of that widening its top-line growth. Salik could use the knowhow gleaned from The Dubai Mall experience to deploy at other such destinations in the city.
"This is an important part of our strategy to offer sustainable and smart mobility solutions to drivers in Dubai, as well as our objective to diversify into complementary revenue streams," said Al Haddad.
Dubai Mall currently operates five parking zones with 13,000 plus retail parking spaces. (The Zabeel and Fountain View parking areas are currently not covered by the initial rollout of the solution.)
"Our co-operation will be rolled out in the busiest zones closer to the Mall," the Salik CEO added. This solution will eliminate the need for parking gates or barriers at Dubai Mall, helping to avoid congestion during peak hours."
How the Dubai Mall system will work
- When a vehicle arrives at the point of entry, a camera captures the plate number.
- The Salik system processes the image, recognizes the plate number, and records the entry time.
- When the vehicle exits, the system again scans the plate number, and the elapsed time is recorded.
- The Parking Management System (PMS) calculates the parking fee based on the car park rules, associates the plate number to the Salik account and deducts the value from the Salik account.
"For now, the project only covers Dubai Mall - if our partner sees that there is a business case to extend the service to other malls then this would be discussed and agreed separately with Emaar Malls," said Al Haddad.
"Our business model allows for reduced congestion in car parks and improved efficiency in terms of parking utilization and barrierless entry/exit. It also enables increased security, accuracy in tracking and reading license plates, with no reliance on payment machines."
More to follow...
