The Islamic Affairs & Charitable Activities Department (“IACAD”), a government agency responsible for overseeing Islamic affairs, mosques and charitable activities has entered a strategic partnership with Parkin Company PJSC (“Parkin” or the “Company”), the largest provider of paid public parking facilities and services in Dubai.
Key Takeaways
- Under phase one of the revenue sharing agreement, Parkin will operate and manage c.2.1k parking spaces across 59 sites in Dubai, on behalf of IACAD
- Parking will be provided free of charge to worshippers for a period of one hour during prayer times
- This partnership will contribute to expanding Parkin’s total private parking portfolio to c.20.8k spaces
- Operational rollout is targeted to commence in August 2025
This landmark collaboration, the first of its kind between the Company and IACAD, will enhance access to mosques by ensuring fair and efficient use of mosque parking facilities for all visitors, especially during prayer time. The partnership aims to ease the challenge of finding parking during prayer, improve access to mosques at all times, and enhance the overall religious experience for worshippers across Dubai. In the future, there is potential to scale up this initiative to cover additional mosques that are part of IACAD’s portfolio.
These parking spaces will be designated as Zone M (standard) or Zone MP (premium) and, outside prayer hours, will be chargeable 24 hours a day, seven days a week. During prayer time, mosque visitors will be able to park free of charge for up to one hour. Of the 59 sites, 41 will be located in zone M and 18 will in zone MP.
H.E. Ahmed Darwish Al Muhairi, Director General of the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department in Dubai, affirmed that the partnership marks a significant step in enhancing cooperation between the government and semi-government sectors. It ushers in a new phase of mosque service improvements, enhancing the worshipper experience and elevating the quality of religious life across the emirate.
Al Muhairi stated:
“The signing of this agreement reflects our strong commitment to providing a comprehensive parking service around mosques, one that enhances the experience of worshippers during and beyond prayer times, while also supporting Dubai government’s vision of delivering smart, proactive mobility services that cater to the needs of all segments of society.”
Eng. Mohamed Abdulla Al Ali, CEO of Parkin, commented:
“This pioneering initiative between Parkin and IACAD prioritises community needs by enabling wider accessible parking while reducing misuse by non-visitors. We are targeting to introduce this measure during August and look forward to how this collaboration will enhance the worshipper experience, streamlining parking efficiency around mosques.”
Mr. Mohammed Musbeh Dhahi, Executive Director of the Charitable Work Sector at the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department in Dubai, concluded by stating that this collaboration is a significant addition that supports the Department’s efforts to enhance the enforcement and supervision system of mosques by improving access efficiency to their facilities, monitoring maintenance activities, and ensuring the readiness of their surrounding environment.
About Parkin Company PJSC
With a unique blend of operational excellence, technological know-how and enforcement capability spanning almost three decades, Parkin Company PJSC is the largest provider of paid public parking facilities and services in the Emirate of Dubai, with a portfolio of approximately 209k paid parking spaces, as at Q1 2025.
Parkin has a dominant position in relation to Dubai’s on and off-street paid public parking market and a leading share of the overall paid parking market. Under a 49-year Concession Agreement with Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Parkin has the exclusive right to operate a portfolio of public on and off-street parking (c.187k spaces) as well as public multi-storey car parking facilities (c.3k spaces). Parkin also operates certain developer-owned parking facilities through partnership agreements across the Emirate (c.19k spaces) and provides barrierless, ticketless on behalf of Majid Al Futtaim across two malls. Additional revenue streams include enforcement, the issuance of seasonal permits, parking reservations and other commercial activities.
By deploying state of the art digital payment solutions and intelligent parking management systems that utilise artificial intelligence and big data analysis, Parkin’s customers successfully conducted 36m parking transactions in Q1 2025.
Dubai’s parking operations were established in 1995 under the Dubai Municipality, before becoming part of the RTA in 2005. In December 2023, Parkin Company PJSC was established through the issuance of Law No. 30 of 2023, successfully completing its initial public offering (IPO) on the Dubai Financial Market in March 2024.
Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department
Established under Law No. (2) of 2011, the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department (IACAD) is the official government entity responsible for overseeing Islamic affairs and charitable initiatives in the Emirate of Dubai. The mission of the IACAD is to promote Islamic knowledge and values, building a sustainable community service that promotes Islamic religious and cultural values and humanitarian awareness.
The department supervises religious recordings, printing and the distribution of the curricula as well as preparation, approval and printing of the Hijri calendar. The department is also responsible for issuing licenses for charitable societies, Islamic institutions and centers for memorising of the Holy Quran.
Furthermore, the department issues licenses for Islamic research and study centres and supervises them administratively and financially, while also supervising and licensing private mosques, Islamic celebrations, seminars, conferences, exhibitions and religious competitions to highlight the advantage of Islamic religion.
In Dubai, IACAD also organises Hajj and Umrah affairs in coordination with the concerned authorities in the UAE, as well as Fatwa, Zakat obligations, donations and charitable contributions.