Kathmandu, September 5

Parking problems in New Road may be a history within a few years, as Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) is gearing up to build an ‘automated smart parking’ building in Dharmapath that will be able to accommodate 500 vehicles.

In this regard, the KMC has published a notice seeking expression of interest (EoI) from contractors within 15 days. The KMC has allocated one ropani and 10 aanas of land in Dharmapath, New Road for the proposed seven-storey parking building. The contractor will have to complete the construction within one year of bagging the contract.

“While we had been planning to build such a parking building in New Road since long considering the traffic congestion in the area, it seems our plan is finally inching closer to materialisation,” said Mahesh Kafle, head of public-private partnership division at KMC.

The building will be disabled- and pedestrian friendly, with ample rest area for the drivers, have vehicle cleaning and maintenance facilities, and be equipped with sufficient electric charging stations and electronic parking billing system, according to Kafle.

Along with greenery around the building, KMC is also planning to set up digital billboards that will cover 25 per cent of

the façade.

Kafle further said that the smart parking building will be a state-of-the-art facility, with vehicle owners having a choice of pre-booking their parking spots.

“People would be able to pre-book a space and pay for parking using a mobile-based application,” he added.

To use the digital parking, vehicle owners would have to register their vehicle, and the parking censors will examine the details of the vehicles for registration and parking areas.

Moreover, the parking building will have separate areas for taxis.