Gov’t profiting from illicit monthly parking fees

Comendador Ho Yin Garden car park

The government had been receiving part of the profits made by the Comendador Ho Yin Garden parking lot through its illegally issued monthly passes over the years, the management firm Macau Forehap Parking Management Limited has revealed to the media.
An investigation into the arbitrary launch of the unauthorized service without permission from the authorities is being completed, after the firm admitted to issuing unlicensed monthly passes.
However, Transport Bureau director Lam Hin San told media yesterday morning after a TDM call-in program that it was too early to comment on the allegations before the authorities had fully completed their investigation. “Initially, we haven’t seen in Forehap’s report mentioning the monthly passes, but we will continue to look into the allegations,” he said.
The preliminary inquiry suggests that the group has raked in a total of MOP8.7 million through the illegal business since its conception in May 2012, in contrast with the initial estimation of MOP9.17 million.
The concession reached between the authorities and the firm mandates that 61 percent of the latter’s income form the car park is passed on to the government, Lam also noted.
In addition, following the opening of a new center for old cars test next year, vehicles up to or over 8 years old will have to undergo a mandatory checkup, starting from 2017. The authorities are now working on the refurbishment of the center, added Lam.
When the new regulations are in place, it is expected that the number of vehicles in the territory will fall.