WILLEMSTAD - Downtown Management Organization (DMO) and Sociedat di Komersiantenan di Otrabanda (SKO) will take over parking management in the inner city. DMO chairman Mahesh Mukhi says that Minister Charles Cooper of Traffic, Transport and Spatial Planning (VVRP) has announced this.
DMO and SKO have argued for the takeover for years. They want to use the money from the parking machines to maintain the city center and make it more attractive. “DMO and SKO stand for customer-friendly parking management,” says Mukhi. The contract lasts for five years.
“As soon as the contract has been signed, parking management, for example, can be operational within three months”, expects the chairman of the Punda shopkeepers' association.
The intention of the new parking management is to settle monthly payments with the government. The money that remains will go towards improving public and general facilities in the city center.
The previous manager, Parking Authority Curaçao (PAC) owes over six million guilders to the government in right-of-use fees until the end of May 2020. This has been calculated by the Court of Audit of Curaçao.
“It is important that parking management does not end up with a private company. A commercial company wants to make a profit, this is not our goal," DMO told Cooper. The motto of the organizations is that the population pays, but gets something in return.