CT Park Ltd has signed its first contract in Libya to operate the only public car park in the centre of Tripoli.

The two-storey underground car park, which has a capacity of over 2,000 vehicles on two levels, is situated below a public garden, which also has to be maintained by the company.

This is the first of five car parks, still to be built, which will be run by CT Park (Libya) Ltd, a new company that won a tender to manage public parking in Tripoli.

CT Park Ltd was set up in 2004 to focus primarily on the parking industry. Today it runs the major car parks in Malta. CT Park Libya, with both local and foreign partners, is chaired by Kenneth De Martino.

The tender agreement covers the supply of automated, state-of-the-art equipment and a full management agreement. The term is for five years with an option for a second five-year term.

"When CT Park entered the market, there was a lot of scepticism on its viability since there was reluctance among the local population to pay for parking," Mr De Martino said this week.

"Now that the concept has been accepted, we want to take our experience to Libya to a city with three million people. Early indications are that this will also meet the expected growth in demand for secure, convenient, centrally located parking."

CT Park Libya is to be run by Maltese management, based in Libya, with a local and technical workforce.