THE company managing the Penang Smart Parking (PSP) system, HeiTech Padu Berhad, has installed 1,031 sensors as of Sept 20 this year.
HeiTech Padu has managed to install the sensors before the deadline set by Penang Local Government, Housing, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo.
The PSP system was launched on Aug 18 this year, and there were some issues that needed to be addressed.
“The first was that the PSP application on the Google Play was not available for Android users. The issue was solved on Aug 22.
“The second issue was the installation of smart sensors at the council parking lots in Penang. The company had to install 997 sensors, but they only managed to put up 30 at that time.
“It was because the stocks were stranded in Hong Kong. The airport in Hong Kong was closed due to the unrest and the stocks had to be transported to Malaysia by sea. A deadline was given to HeiTech Padu to complete the installation of the remaining 967 sensors.
“The company had to install the remaining 967 sensors by Sept 24. I am happy that the company managed to meet the deadline given.
“In fact, they (the company) have installed an additional 34 sensors, making it a total of 1,031 sensors as of Sept 20,” Jagdeep told a press conference in Bishop Street today.
The sensors were installed at 655 Penang Island City Council (MBPP) normal parking lots and 12 parking lots for the disabled on the Penang island.
The sensors were also put up at 352 Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP) normal parking lots, eight parking lots for the disabled and four parking lots for pregnant women on the Penang mainland.
Jagdeep said the installation of about 36,000 sensors (24,000 on the mainland and 12,000 on the island) was scheduled to complete in July next year (2020).
“The estimated cost to implement PSP system was RM30 million.
“The PSP system is a private finance initiative (PFI). The company will bear the cost of implementing and operating the system throughout a period of seven years, according to the contract.
“The Penang government and local councils (MBPP and MPSP) will not bear any operational or capital expenditure (capex) during the period.
“The company will take a portion of the parking collection, while the other portions are taken by the local councils,” he said.
Jagdeep said a workshop would be held tomorrow (Sept 25) between the state, HeiTech Padu, the local councils, Penang Development Corporations and other stakeholders to draw out a plan to meet the July 2020 deadline.
“We will also discuss the locations that are to be installed and the timeline. I have said that I’ll be conducting a periodical check to get updates on the progress so that the public can be notified,” he said.
Jagdeep said the company would be setting up a booth at several locations to promote the PSP system to the public.
“The booth will be set up at Komtar, City Hall at the Esplanade, Setia SPICE Arena and MBSP building in Bandar Perda from tomorrow (Sept 25) to Sept 30.
“The company will also be setting up an exhibition booth at Gurney Paragon Mall from Sept 27 to 29 during the Penang International Green Conference and Exhibition 2019; and at Mydin Wholesale Hypermarket in Kepala Batas on Oct 5 during the Digital Seberang Perai,” he said.
Also present were MBPP mayor Datuk Yew Tung Seang and HeiTech Padu Berhad executive vice-president Abdul Halim Md Lassim.
The public can now use the find parking feature on the PSP app to view the availability of parking lots and their approximate locations.
The app user just has to tap on the marker and the app will navigate the user to the preferred location via Google Maps or Waze.
Story by Christopher Tan
Pix by Noor Siti Nabilah Noorazis