Parkin deploys ticketless ANPR parking at Al Ghurair Centre, Dubai
Parkin Company PJSC has entered a five-year agreement with Al Ghurair Centre to overhaul parking operations at the Deira retail and residential complex, deploying AI-enabled Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology to eliminate physical tickets and deliver a fully digital visitor journey.
The deal was signed by Parkin chief executive Mohamed Abdulla Al Ali and Al Ghurair Property Management chief executive Paul Fanning. It covers enforcement, operational management, monthly subscription permits, and dedicated access management for residential and commercial tenants at the Al Ghurair Centre Residence and Rawabeh buildings.
The deployment
Under the new system, cameras with integrated display screens will be installed at entry and exit points, providing real-time guidance without a physical ticket barrier. Visitors receive three complimentary hours, with two additional hours available to shoppers who spend AED 200 or more at participating retailers, and a further two hours for Star Cinemas ticket holders. Standard tariffs apply Monday to Saturday; parking is free on Sundays and public holidays. Outstanding charges can be settled via Parkin's digital channels within five days of a visit.
Eng. Abdelrahman Alshuweihi, Director of Operations at Parkin, said the ANPR platform and integrated digital payments would "enable a frictionless parking journey that reduces congestion and improves accessibility for all." Ramy El Shaarawy, VP of Al Ghurair Hospitality, framed the move as removing "one of the oldest friction points in retail."
Market context
Smart parking is a growing sub-category of urban mobility technology, driven by rising vehicle density in Gulf cities and pressure on retail operators to differentiate the physical shopping experience against e-commerce. ANPR-based ticketless systems have been deployed across European and Asian cities for several years, but GCC adoption has accelerated in line with broader smart-city investment from Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority and Abu Dhabi's Integrated Transport Centre.
Parkin holds a structurally advantaged position in this market: a 49-year concession agreement with the RTA gives it exclusive rights over roughly 197,000 public on-street and multi-storey spaces in Dubai, alongside roughly 32,000 developer-owned spaces managed under partnership agreements. The Al Ghurair deal adds to an existing private-sector portfolio that already includes ticketless operations across two Majid Al Futtaim malls. Competitors seeking to enter Dubai's managed-parking market face both the concession barrier and the scale of Parkin's installed payment and enforcement infrastructure.
The broader smart-parking space attracts platform vendors offering cloud-based parking management, guidance and payment aggregation alongside hardware suppliers providing ANPR cameras and in-ground sensors. Retail property operators across the GCC are increasingly treating parking technology as a customer-retention and dwell-time tool rather than a cost centre, a framing that favours integrated operators such as Parkin over point-solution providers.
Parkin completed its IPO on the Dubai Financial Market in March 2024 and recorded 141 million parking transactions in 2025. The company did not disclose the contract value of the Al Ghurair agreement or the number of parking spaces covered by the new system.