ISLAMABAD (The Thursday Times) — Islamabad’s first digitally managed parking plaza has opened in Blue Area with space for more than 1,200 vehicles, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) said on Saturday.
The plaza, built by the CDA and the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad, will run around the clock, seven days a week, for both cars and motorcycles.
Parking will be free for the first few days. After that, drivers will pay Rs100 for a car and Rs50 for a motorcycle, with the first 20 minutes free.
Receipts at the gate, payment on the way out
Drivers receive a digital receipt when they enter and pay when they leave. The plaza accepts cashless and online payments and has a digital monitoring and security system, the authority said.
Blue Area, the capital’s main commercial strip along Jinnah Avenue, has long been short of parking, and the CDA said the plaza was meant to give motorists an organised and secure place to leave their vehicles in the area and the streets around it.
A rooftop restaurant is due to open in the coming days, and the auction of several shops in the building has been completed, the authority said.
The opening comes as the capital pushes residents and businesses away from cash. Government offices in Islamabad are to stop accepting cash after November 30, and every merchant in the city is expected to take digital payments by December 31, under a plan to make Islamabad a cashless city.
