IBN BATTUTA GATE, DUBAI, UAE — 765 SPACES
This iconic robotic parking facility represents a groundbreaking achievement as the first fully automated parking garage in the Middle East. Designed and built as a turnkey stand-alone structure, the project set a new standard for innovation and efficiency in urban mobility solutions.
Project Timeline:
Permits Issued: 2007
Construction Completed: 2008
Completion Certificate issued March 2009 (see certification)
Official Opening: August 12, 2009
As a regional first, this facility also achieved a global milestone by becoming the world’s first and only automated parking garage to undergo and pass rigorous pre-opening performance tests, demonstrating a peak handling capacity of over 250 vehicles per hour.
Robotic Parking Systems proudly operated and maintained the facility for five years under a comprehensive service agreement with the owner. The successful operation of this landmark garage stands as a testament to our engineering excellence, reliability, and actual performance. (see letter from property manager Asteco).
Ibn Battuta Gate, Dubai, UAE |
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| Number of Spaces | 765 |
| Type of Garage | RPS 1000 |
| Footprint | 276 ft x 98 ft |
| Height | 57 ft |
| Levels | 7 |
| Entry / Exit Terminals | 8 |
| Owner | Seven Tides Limited |
| Operator (2009 – 2014) | Robotic Parking Systems |
| Total transactions during O & M period | Over 750,000 |
Comments from Owner and Property Manager
Anne Marie Shein, Senior Property Manager Ibn Battuta Gate stated, “Since the automated car park opened three and a half years ago, you and your staff have provided excellent operations service and ensured that the automated car park is well-maintained and running flawlessly.”
Ahmet Oktay Cini, CEO of Asteco Development Management, also representing Seven Tides, described the system as “a key component of the development, a premium valet parking using state of the art technology.” He added: “It means your car is safe from break-ins and accidents, or the dents and scratches that are usually the risk of parking in large car parks.”
Asteco managing director Andrew Chambers Jones commented, “… parking or retrieval can be completed in less than 160 seconds. It is safe and secure and obviously doesn’t expose expensive paint work to the abrasive elements during lengthy office hours.”
Additional note:
The Ibn Battuta garage was successfully operated by Robotic Parking Systems for five years, from 2009 to 2014. During this period, the operation and maintenance of the facility was performed under our comprehensive operations and maintenance agreement. In that time the facility recorded over 750,000 successful transactions.
In 2014, the client elected to bring operations in house, concluding our operations and maintenance contract. As with all clients, the new operators received the entirely of Robotic Parking Systems training manuals and instructions, and Robotic Parking Systems personnel assisted in the transition to in-house maintenance.
Part of the operations and maintenance of all RPS systems is procedures in the case of weather, electrical, and other potential threats to the operation. In the case of threatened flooding, the instructions include a standard procedure of hoisting the ground level machinery to the upper floors. The hoisting equipment is installed during commissioning of the garages. It is a vital part of the system in a region that has recently seen record rainfalls and flooding; in April 2024, Dubai was hit with severe flooding after two years’ worth of rain fell in just 24 hours, flooding streets and bringing the city to a standstill.
Robotic Parking Systems has learned that in April 2025, the Ibn Battuta Gate again experienced flooding. Unfortunately, it appears that the standard procedure of hoisting the equipment was not followed. The equipment that remained on the ground floor became soaked and inoperable, resulting in a lengthy closure of the garage.
While Robotic Parking Systems is no longer involved in the ongoing management of the facility, RPS management has offered their assistance in getting the Ibn Battuta Gate garage, one of the “crown jewels” of the Ibn Battuta Gate Complex and robotic parking landscape, repaired and operational on the shortest possible timeline.