Public tender opens for parking meter system

The government has announced a public bidding process for the operation of on-street parking, starting immediately.

The announcement was made via an executive order issued by Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai, published in the government’s official gazette on Monday.

The executive order, signed by the Chief Executive on May 30, aligns with the relevant legal provisions of the “Public Parking Services System” and the “Basic Provisions on the Granting of Public Works and Public Services.”

According to publicly available information from the Transport Bureau (DSAT), since the expiration of the meter operation agreement in April 2023, the bureau has directly awarded management and maintenance services for paid parking spaces on public roads in two zones.

The first zone includes the northern district of the Macau Peninsula, Taipa, and Coloane, while the second zone encompasses the southern and central districts of the peninsula, along with the San Kio and Patane areas. These services have been awarded eight times, all to Macau Forehap Parking Management Ltd.

The current short-term outsourcing contract for meter parking space management, also operated by Forehap, is valid until early October this year, spanning eight months.

During this period, meter parking fees are directly remitted to the Macau government as revenue, while the management company assists in collecting and remitting these fees to the Transport Bureau.

Such an arrangement has been in place for over two years, with the total cost for parking management and maintenance services in the two zones amounting to about MOP3.5 million for zone one and MOP4.47 million for zone two, totaling nearly MOP8 million.

The current parking meters in Macau accept only two payment methods: “Macau Pass” cards and UnionPay’s “QuickPass” cards.

In light of the bureau’s takeover, measures are being implemented to phase out cash payments at parking meters, allowing only electronic payments. The “Public Parking Services Regulations” have been amended to specify that parking fees for public road spaces must be paid electronically.

The bureau has previously announced that in the upcoming public tender for the next phase of the parking meter operation agreement, it plans to introduce smart applications and support multiple payment methods.