The Department of Transport (DoT) in Abu Dhabi has commenced construction on a major underground three-storey parking facility, which is expected to have the capacity to hold more than 800 vehicles and covers a total area of 8,300m².

The facility will be located in Sector 11 East, near the Ministry of Finance, Abu Dhabi Tawteen Council and The Department of Economic Development (DED).

The new facility is a part of the DoT’s plan to provide an effective system for parking management and upgrade the overall transport infrastructure in the emirate in line with international standards in safety and comfort.

Expected to provide additional parking for Abu Dhabi’s growing population and urban expansion, the new project comprises an underground parking facility along with surface parking with an investment of AED120m ($32.69m).

The new parking facility will include three elevators equipped with the latest security systems, CCTV and round-the-clock security surveillance, while staff at MAWAQiF, one of the DoT’s divisions, will supervise the parking area. The facility will also feature a disabled parking section next to the entrance.

"The new project comprises an underground parking facility along with surface parking."

The car park has been designed in a rectangular shape for easy movement into and out of the building, and will offer efficiency in energy consumption through its use of eco-friendly technologies.

In order to simplify the search for parking spaces, the DoT will deploy a parking guide system, which will highlight vacant parking spaces through the use of green lights and occupied spaces with red lights.

Scheduled to be completed by the third quarter of 2014, the new parking facility will also feature recreational elements such as a park with children’s play area and a basketball court as part of the surface parking.