Qatar’s City Center mall will introduce pay-for-parking July 1, officials have said.

The mall, which has arguably the most congested parking lot in Doha, will charge QR2 for the first hour, QR3 for the second and third hours and then QR10 for every hour after that, according to a circular issued to tenants.

The Peninsula reports:

While there are other pay parking facilities in the city such as at Doha International Airport and Souq Waqif, the City Center is the first shopping mall to introduce the facility in the country, which could be an added burden for shoppers already saddled by rising prices.

But the mall management says the new system would be more of a benefit to customers.

“It takes a long time for a motorist to find a parking slot, sometimes it can take one hour to look for a space to park, but with the new guiding system it is very easy to find a place to park,” said Schweigel.

“On the top of every parking slot, will be an indicator which turns green when the space is available and red if it is not,” he added, saying it would dramatically reduce the time spent for looking for a parking space.

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And tell us your thoughts. What do you think of the pay scheme?