BINTULU: The Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) has introduced a ticketless parking system to facilitate payment for parking in gazetted zones in Bintulu city.

The Sarawak Public Communication Unit (UKAS) in a news report quoted BDA general manager Datuk Muhammad Yakup Kari as saying that  the introduction of digital parking was in line with the state government’s aspiration to see Bintulu obtain the Smart City recognition by 2030.

He said BDA had taken steps to facilitate users in Bintulu and hoped that the system would reduce complaints about the use of parking coupons.

“Through the BorneoParkBTU application, users can make cashless payments on their smartphones. The application can be downloaded for free on Android Google Play Store and Apple Apps Store.

“Moreover, the application will go live and can be used by the public from May 1 onwards,” he said during the agreement-signing ceremony between BDA Properties Sdn Bhd and BPS Sdn Bhd at BDA Auditorium, Wisma Bintulu on Tuesday (April 12).

The signing ceremony witnessed by BDA deputy chairman Datuk Haidar Khan Asghar Khan was attended by heads of departments, community leaders and village chiefs (KMKK) as well as non-governmental organisations (NGO).

Muhammad Yakup revealed that for promotion purposes and to encourage users to use the application, a free RM5 offer in the form of top-up would be awarded to the first 1,000 users who registered themselves.

He said users could register several vehicles simultaneously and could pay without having to be near the vehicle.

“Users can make transactions through Sarawak Pay, online banking, and debit or credit cards. The amount of top-up ranges from RM5, RM10, RM20, RM30, RM40 and RM50,” he said.

At present, the number of gazetted parking spaces managed by BDA Properties Sdn Bhd is approximately 6,500 and the number will increase to more than 13,000 spaces when more areas are gazetted later.

“This digital parking system has been implemented in Miri City since last year and it has more than 70,000 users.

“For Bintulu, the system will run simultaneously with the coupon method for the time being,” he added.