Salik Company, Dubai’s exclusive toll gate operator, has entered into a partnership with Emaar Malls Management (Emaar Malls) to deliver the Dubai Mall an efficient parking management system that will become operational by Q3 2024.

Under the agreement, Salik’s technology will be deployed to enable a smooth, barrier-free parking experience for mall customers. This will feature automatic fee collection for ticketless parking, using vehicle plate recognition to deduct fees from the Salik user accounts of vehicles based on the business rules defined by Emaar Malls.

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

Salik’s expected revenue may be determined after Emaar Malls finalises the business rules for this project.

Ibrahim Sultan Al Haddad, Chief Executive Officer and Board Member of Salik Company, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Emaar Malls on this exciting initiative at one of Dubai’s most iconic destinations.

“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. We are looking forward to building on the successes of this initiative to expand the offering to other locations around the city.”

Salik said that its exceptionally high penetration rate, with over 2 million registered active accounts and 4 million active vehicles, means that no major customer acquisition is needed because over 90% of Dubai vehicles are already registered.

Ahmed Almatrooshi, Emaar Properties Executive Board Member and General Director of Emaar Foundation said: “We are pleased to announce our collaboration with Salik Company, who has the ability to provide our customers a seamless journey when visiting Dubai Mall.

“This collaboration stems from our commitment to continuously improve the experiences of our guests at Dubai Mall, the world’s most visited mall. We're pleased to see that parking will be easier and more user-friendly with the introduction of Salik's transportation solution and expertise."

Salik said it sees a compelling opportunity to expand further and is actively exploring options for growth in the private parking market in Dubai, which is estimated at over 50,000 parking spaces, by offering seamless access control for residential and institutional parking (e.g., malls and businesses) as well as a platform for fee collection via app and registration plate, both of which are core to the existing business.

Earlier in the year, Salik’s management reiterated its full year outlook for 2023, having delivered strong revenue growth in the third quarter, supported by a continued increase in the number of trips made through its eight toll gates coupled with robust Ebtida margin performance.

The company expects underlying revenue-generating trips to grow 9-10% in 2023, with an Ebtida  margin in the range of 66-67%. – TradeArabia News Service