Al Ain: The first underground public car parking in Al Ain has been constructed in the main market area of the downtown Al Ain to help ease the growing traffic problem and facilitate the visitors.
The two-level facility, built at a cost of Dh321 million, covers an area of 8,800 square metres. The parking facility will accommodate 424 cars, said Engineer Rashid Al Nayadi, project manager at Al Ain Municipality.
It is the first multi-level underground public parking in Al Ain and park will also be built at the ground level of the parking.
Located behind the city’s Souq Al Markazi (Central Market) the parking lot will serve the people visiting main bus terminal, old fruit and vegetable market, gold market, Al Ain Oasis, central market and its surrounding areas.
The downtown area is jam-packed during the peak hours and visitors face problem in finding a place to park their vehicles. The area also attracts large number of tourists and Omani families from across the border for shopping.
Al Nayadi said the parking plaza has been equipped with modern facility along with surveillance cameras, ventilation system, and fire safety and early warning system. The plaza will shortly be handed over the Department of Transportation following the completion of some final touches.
“It’s a vital development in the heart of the city,” said Engineer Al Nayadi, noting that it will ease the parking and traffic pressure in area.
The rooftop of the parking plaza has been developed into a public park for children. It has been designed with the help of Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council. The garden will offer recreational and gaming facilities, in the backdrop of the city’s oldest date palm oasis, to children and residents of the area.
The park will include sections for men, women, and children that would be developed by taking into account the area’s culture and heritage assets that include the National Museum and old Animal Market, he said.
He said the municipality has currently been examining several places in the downtown area for similar developments. A study has also been conducted with the help of the municipality’s internal roads and infrastructure section.
