Macau (MNA) – A protest by thousands of participants in mid-June reflected drivers in the city have been suffering in recent years from the government’s initiatives in tackling parking space problems, while the initiatives have been benefiting private parking spaces and the parking management industry, writes Tony Lai in an article in Macau Business’ July issue.
Chan Lik Ki, the General Manager of CarparKing Co Ltd., an agency specialising in the sale and rental of parking spaces in the city, indicated that cooling real estate measures and various new measures affecting parking management has led to the hike in the price of private parking spaces in recent years.
Chan said the shortage of parking spaces has pushed up values and rents whenever the government introduces new parking management measures.
Meanwhile, legislator Antonio Ng Kuok Cheong said the government has raised relevant penalties and charges despite it being aware of the shortage and uneven distribution of parking spaces in the city.
“This indirectly pushes up the price of private parking spaces, leading to the public perception of the government doing favours for business interests,” said the legislator.
Ng questioned why the government does not limit vehicle imports to curb the growth of vehicles.
Macau CPM Holdings – a local company which controls one of the largest parking companies in the city – recently applied for listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with data in the IPO document revealing the potential growth of the parking management industry in Macau.
Marketing research firm Frost & Sullivan stated in a document that ‘the gradual increasing supply of public parking spaces during the past few years and the surging prices of private [car parking] spaces have supported the steady growth of the parking management service industry.’
Source: Macau (MNA) Cecilia U
