GEORGE TOWN, Sept 2 — Penangites do not need to pay parking fees at all city council lots until this Friday following technical issues with its Penang Smart Parking (PSP) application.
Local Government, Housing and Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said users who already paid for parking yesterday and today will receive refunds in their PSP e-wallet.
“All compounds issued during this period for non-payment of parking fees will also be automatically cancelled,” he said in a statement issued today.
However, he reminded motorists that compounds will still be issued to those who have parked illegally or those whose vehicles obstructed traffic.
“This technical issue is very much regretted and we take this seriously, both city councils have already issued show-cause letters to the PSP operator,” he said.
When contacted, Penang Island City Council Mayor Datuk Yew Tung Seang said MBPP had issued four show-case letters to the operator, including the one issued yesterday.
He said the city council will not hesitate to cancel the contract of the operator for non-compliance if issues such as this continue to arise.
PSP is a private finance initiative that was introduced in August last year.
The project was awarded to Heitech Padu Berhad through open tender where 61 companies had vied for the project.
Heitech Padu was given a seven-year concession that started in May 2019 and since it was a PFI, the company will be footing the estimated RM115 million costs to install the system, as well as manage, maintain and operate it.
The concession included the management, maintenance, enforcement, collection of revenue and operation of the application and system for both city councils.
