Sri Lanka’s growing motorists are on the rise and cars are seeking a place in every household. Consequently, parking lots are running out of space and Colombo is crying out for suitable infrastructure such as basic car parks. Added to this, experts warn that Colombo’s road arteries are most likely to get clogged like they do in big and mini metros if this situation isn’t addressed in the short term.
Well, to make the best out of the bad situation and also in a bid to accommodate the large volume of vehicles, Tenaga Car Parks, a pioneer in providing parking and traffic management solutions in Sri Lanka has foreseen this, which prompted them to plan introducing what they call ‘third generation mechanised parking’. This is where a multi-level car parking system is built to maximise car parking capacity by utilising vertical space, rather than expand horizontally.
Duminda Jayatilleke, Chairman Tenaga says that this solution is still at a nascent stage, but it is the easiest option to decongest roads and solve parking problems. “This system will consist of about eight floors and will be operated on ticket, or more advanced systems such as mobile phone operation. This will also provide a solution to the rising need for parking slots, especially with the expected growth in tourist arrivals,” he told the Business Times. He said that with this new parking system, Tenaga aims to reach a wider segment moving into condominiums, hotels and the leisure sector. The company brings over 20 years of experience and has a host of services including management strategies tailor-made to suit each car park and traffic management client and technical and consultancy services.
“We were awarded the ISO 9001:2008 certification for managing parking facilities and controlling traffic for in bound and out bound vehicles, while we also became the first company in Sri Lanka as well as in South East Asia to achieve this feat,” Mr. Jayatilleke noted.
He said the company was founded in 2003 and it has a BOI status. “When it was first launched we saw a niche opportunity as providing sustainable, safe and high quality parking services to the local public was not done by anyone at the time,” he said. he added that lack of a professionally run parking and traffic management solutions was a big issue while safety in parking was also seen as an urgent need at the time, due to the country’s security situation. “People do not want to have the headache of running the car park, because it is a tedious exercise and they prefer to outsource it. Being the only professionally run car park company in Sri Lanka, we operate on three models. That is, we either lease the land, we enter into a management contract or go on profit share,” he said, noting that people are the centre of Tenaga’s service.
He said the personnel are well trained to meet the demands of the industry. “We are committed to providing an efficient traffic management service in a professional and orderly manner by creating a safe, secure and friendly environment,” he stressed. He said Tenaga started with just three car parks but now manages 15 in areas such as Ambalangoda, Hikkaduwa and in hospital locations like the Central Hospital and Asiri Surgical.
“These are operated with around 150,000 vehicles utilising the car parks each month,” Mr. Jayatilleke noted, adding that the company offers parking solutions to the public and private sector, office and residential complexes and hospitals.
A shuttle service managed by Tenaga is operated from the car parks, giving enhanced benefits to the customers.
He explained that many tend to think that parking is a very nut and bolt type of industry and they believe that anybody can do it. “By us coming in, we introduce our systems, we ensure that quality is maintained and we take the burden or headache of running a car park out of the owner or client, giving them the opportunity to concentrate on their core business,” he added. |
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