Accra, April 25, GNA - The Accra City Car Park on Tuesday began free trial operations for both private and commercial (taxis) drivers, but managers of Ghana's first multi-storey car park said actual operations would begin in two weeks.

Mr Cyril Sevor, Manager of the car park, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that owners of the 500-capacity car park would charge 2,000 cedis for the first two hours, 1,000 cedis for the second and third hours respectively and 500 cedis for subsequent hours that a car remains there.

Special discount would be given to companies whose officials become regular users and park their cars for longer hours. Mr Sevor said owners of the park, Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Merchant Bank, First African Group and the Labour Enterprise Trust, are yet to contract a company to see to security aspects of the park but at the moment it is being protected by security personnel of the contractors.

However, owners have already engaged the services of a private company to see to the cleaning of the four storey car park which has shops on the ground floor, two sets of fee paying toilets for the public, another set for users of the park as well as two lifts.

The car park also has two entry and exit electronic control barriers that would require drivers who enter the park to collect a ticket and pay on exit according to the number of hours that would be recorded automatically by a central control system.

Mr Sevor said managers of the park would soon begin an education campaign by using flyers and animation on the use and directions of the park. He said the City Park expects competition from other car park operators as a result of franchise given them by the AMA to run car parks on commecial basis but "our facilities will justify the extent of patronage we get."

He said the company expects high patronage but "this will also depend on the enforcement of parking regulations." It took two years instead of 11 months to complete the 5.5 million-dollar car park.