The Bhutanese Leading the way.
KCR is which is constructing the two major multi-level parking projects is the biggest joint venture parking fee collection agency in Thimphu and currently manages all the parking sites in the core areas of Thimphu.
KCR CEO Goutam Mukherjee said once the two multi parking structures in Thimphu is completed the fee collection will be better monitored. “The Company will invest Nu 650mn to Nu 700mn for the two projects,” he said. KCR is further made up of three companies that have come together and they are KNG a local company with the former National Council Chairperson and former DPT candidate Namgay Penjore as one its main owners, a Nepal based company and Rinson construction.
The two projects will be given to KCR for a total of 22 years to collect all parking fee from the multi-level parking sites.
Talking about the expenses in a month, he said that including the staff salary (including more than 60 parking fee collectors), office rent and other expenses, the monthly expenditure comes around Nu 700,000 to Nu 800,000.
Currently, KCR has six people using the renewable Nu 2000 per month pre-paid card system. “But some users use the card even when the expiry date is over,” he said.
A parking fee collector, Khem Raj, said that the job is challenging since they have to bear all the blame that usually people put on them.
All the collectors shared about agencies cutting from their salaries. “We can sometime get the excess amount but if we cannot take up the minimum amount, they will deduct from our salary.”
Thimphu Thrompon, Kinlay Dorjee said, “Everybody has to pay and no one is exempted, no matter if they have parked for a minute or for an hour”. He said the agencies have a good relation with the police. The drivers that do not pay are noted down and the police can trace their vehicle numbers.
Thrompon said that the parking fee collection agencies pay the Thromde in a quarterly basis. KCR pays Nu12 mn to Nu 13 mn in a year where as Global Parking which manages the hospital and CFM market pays more than Nu 3 mn in a year. “Whatever revenue they get from them is added to our revenue sources,” he said.
The revenue helps the Thromde to meet 80 percent of its expenses, especially recurrent expenses like staff salary, maintenance, vehicle, stationeries, etc. from such revenue sources.
As for the revision of parking fee rate, Thrompon said that it has not been decided as yet, but there are provisions for it owing to the inflation in every 2 to 3 years time.
