Dubai plans to crack down on millions of unpaid parking and Salik fines

RTA and Ministry of Interior meeting also looked at improving awareness about Salik and the availability of Salik tags at all UAE entry points.

Powered by automated translation

DUBAI // Transport chiefs plan to link up with other GCC countries to collect the millions of unpaid parking and Salik fines accumulated by vehicles in the region.

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Ministry of Interior have met to discuss the matter.

"I'm not sure what the monetary amount is exactly but it is a few million fines we are still waiting to have paid," said Ahmed Hashim Bahrozyan, chief executive of the RTA's licensing agency.

"The current procedure of retrieving payments is done manually. The RTA sends a list of fines of non-UAE vehicles to the Ministry of Interior and they forward the information to the concerned departments of the other [Arabian] Gulf countries.

"This has not been effective. We are now planning to link the GCC through an electronic system. This will allow the information to reach a lot faster."

Mr Bahrozyan said the RTA was not sure how long it such a system would take to implement.

A committee from the ministry and RTA will visit traffic departments in GCC countries to establish a mechanism for the collection of fines.

Dubai pays its fines to other countries, said Mr Bahrozyan. "The percentage of fines paid by Dubai is much higher than that of any other GCC country," he said.