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Kakao Mobility to provide a parking platform solution for Riyadh's Diriyah Project

Published: 01 Jun. 2025, 19:38

A 3-D model of the Diriyah Project displayed in Saudi Arabia

Kakao Mobility will provide a parking platform solution for Saudi Arabia’s $63 billion Diriyah Project, marking the company’s first global export of its parking technology.

The mobility service provider announced Sunday that it signed a memorandum of understanding on May 25 with the Diriyah Gate Development Authority in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The agreement includes the joint development of future mobility services, with Kakao Mobility specifically tasked with building and operating a smart parking platform.

The Diriyah Project is part of Saudi Arabia’s broader “Giga Projects” initiative — large-scale, government-led infrastructure and urban development plans. Covering 14 square kilometers (5.4 square miles), the Diriyah site will include luxury resorts, villas, hospitals and shopping centers by 2030. Local developer Diriyah Company plans to build parking facilities with the capacity for more than 60,000 vehicles.

Under the agreement, Kakao Mobility will develop an integrated solution to manage parking operations, including reservation and payment systems. The project will begin with a proof-of-concept phase in areas already open to the public. Following discussions with Diriyah Company, Kakao Mobility aims to expand the solution across the entire development.

Kakao Mobility CEO, Ryu Geung-seon at left, and Diriyah Company CEO Jerry Inzerillo pose for photos after signing a memorandum of understanding in Saudi Arabia on May 25. [KAKAO MOBILITY]

To support the project, the company plans to deploy technologies it developed in-house. These include its mobile network signal-based indoor positioning system, the first of its kind to be commercialized globally in 2020, and its Universal Parking Controller, which allows centralized control of diverse parking infrastructures through a single system.

The agreement also outlines the possibility of broader collaboration in mobility services beyond parking. This includes offerings such as taxi-hailing, which may be introduced depending on local demand in Diriyah.

“We expect this project to serve as a bridgehead for our global expansion,” a Kakao Mobility official said. “In October last year, a delegation from the Sharjah Digital Authority in the United Arab Emirates visited our headquarters to experience our mobility technology and explore future collaboration.”

Ryu Geung-seon, CEO of Kakao Mobility, who attended the signing ceremony, said, “Based on our experience providing taxi and rental car platform services abroad, we will do our utmost to demonstrate the quality of our solutions.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY YUN JUNG-MIN [[email protected]]