DOHA: The City Center Mall will implement pay parking at the end of the year or early next year, an official of the mall said.

Christoph von Oelhafen (pictured), Director of the City Center, said with the big parking-related problem the mall is facing at the moment, they decided to implement pay parking to “give better service” to their customers.

“There are some people, who work in the towers next to our building, who park their cars here because it is shaded, nice, close to the towers and it is for free… so we decided to implement pay parking to give our customers better service,” he said.

Von Oelhafen said they have also decided to redevelop the traffic flow inside the mall’s car park as it is not well organised at the moment.

“We already have three entrances at the front of the building and five exits at the back… What we need to do is redevelop the traffic flow as cars can enter and exit in the back area… so it is a big mess right now.”

According to the City Center director, the scanners or detectors for the pay parking have already been installed on the entrance and exit areas of the building, however, they have not decided on the fees yet. “This is not to make money out of the car park, it is to bring better service to our customers.”

As for the City Center employees, Von Oelhafen said they may find a different place for them to park their cars. “We still have a lot of things we have not decided upon just yet.”

He said they are also working on a layout in the back area where they can add extra parking space. They will also be adding some shops in the basement level — “good brands that are not yet here at the city center.”

The mall’s entertainment area is under renovation and will reopen in three months’ time with new attractions.

Five luxury hotels will be linked to the City Center building, two of which will open by the end of this year and the rest will open next year.

The five luxury hotels include the two Marriott hotels — the Marriott Courtyard and the Renaissance Hotel — the Doha Shangri-La, the Doha Rotana Hotel and a new Merweb.

The Renaissance Hotel, which will have around 257 rooms and the Marriott Courtyard, which will have around 204, will open by the end of the year.

The Marriott Group will also open the Marriott Executive Apartments, which will have around 123 rooms, around the same time. The Rotana Hotel, the new Merweb and the Doha Shangri-La, which will be managed by the Faisal Bin Oassim Al Thani & Sons Holding Company, will open in 2010.

The Merweb Hotel City Centre will comprise of 250 rooms and suites, furnished in an exciting modern design, in addition to 97 fully furnished one, two, and three-bedroom apartments. All accommodation will offer the very latest amenities.

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