“Difficulty in finding parking” is a common challenge faced by major cities in their governance.
Recently, the Nanjing Municipal Transportation Bureau and six other departments jointly issued a document outlining 19 guiding measures to further strengthen the development of urban public parking facilities in Nanjing.
The new regulations shall take effect on July 1, 2020.
How can parking spaces be created in the central urban area?
Encourage the construction of parking lots on “leftover” or underutilized plots of land, among other sites.
In Nanjing’s main urban areas, the Xuanwu, Qinhuai, Jianye, Gulou, Qixia, and Yuhua Tai districts are relatively underserved in terms of parking resources. The newly issued guiding opinions are primarily targeted at these six central districts.
So, how can we carve out parking space in tight urban areas? The proposal outlines several approaches, with a particular emphasis on tapping the underground potential of public facilities such as city roads, public plazas, school playgrounds, park green spaces, and bus terminals. Many underutilized “marginal” plots throughout the city also hold untapped potential—idle sites that have lain vacant for more than a year, for instance—can be repurposed to create temporary parking lots, tailored to local parking needs.
The guidelines have been further clarified, stipulating that when new or expanded school campuses are developed, their underground spaces should be fully utilized for parking facilities; when the land area of plazas, parks, green spaces, and similar areas exceeds 3,000 square meters, at least one level of underground parking should be provided; and during the renovation of older residential neighborhoods and the redevelopment of dilapidated urban areas, parking facilities should also be reconstructed, expanded, or newly constructed in accordance with project-specific conditions, among other measures.
How can we boost enthusiasm for building parking lots?
Newly built berths with a capacity of 100 or more will be equipped with commercial facilities.
To encourage private capital to invest in parking facility development and promote the sustainable growth of public parking, the guidelines stipulate that, on land designated for public parking facilities, newly constructed public parking lots with 100 or more parking spaces—provided they comply with approved planning requirements and do not reduce the total number of parking spaces—may include ancillary commercial space up to 20% of the total floor area.
With respect to parking fees, public parking facilities financed by government funds or constructed with investment from municipal or district state-owned enterprises shall be subject to government‑set or government‑guided pricing. For public parking facilities developed through public‑private partnerships between municipal and district governments and private capital, as well as those built entirely with private investment, parking fees shall be determined by market forces.
What preferential policies are available for investment?
Private investment in parking lot construction can qualify for subsidies of over RMB 30,000 per parking space.
Building on the preferential policies of 2015, the newly issued guiding opinions further increase fiscal incentives at both the municipal and district levels for urban public parking facilities developed with private-sector participation. Upon project completion, subsidies per parking space range from RMB 550 to over RMB 30,000.
The reporter noted that the subsidy and reward standards vary depending on whether the parking facility is underground, above ground, or at ground level. For example, for surface-level public parking lots—those not attached to any construction project and in use for more than two years—the subsidy is 550 yuan per parking space. Meanwhile, open-air parking facilities installed on the rooftops of above-ground buildings receive a subsidy equal to four times the rate for surface-level parking. As for above-ground public parking garages or lots within residential or commercial buildings, the subsidy is 16,500 yuan per parking space. The highest subsidy is reserved for newly constructed standalone underground parking facilities, where each parking space can receive up to 33,000 yuan. Additionally, for underground parking facilities built beyond the originally planned scale, subsidies also exceed 20,000 yuan per space. The funding for these incentives and subsidies is shared equally between the municipal and district-level finances, with each contributing 50 percent.
Not only have high‑level subsidy measures been implemented, but the land‑transfer‑fee policy has also been further refined.
According to the Nanjing Municipal Transportation Bureau, since the launch of a three-year action plan last year, the city has added 10,539 parking spaces as of the end of last year. An additional 30,000-plus parking spaces are slated for construction in the coming period, with a focus on alleviating parking shortages in key areas. At the Lanjiazhuang Farmers’ Market in Xuanwu District, a three‑level automated parking garage was commissioned in March last year, effectively easing parking pressures for both vendors and residents. The facility’s manager told reporters that with 64 spaces priced at 8 yuan per hour or 500 yuan per month, more than 80 percent of the spots have already been reserved.
Are parking lots operating at a loss? Why are substantial subsidies being offered? According to insiders, the biggest cost in building parking facilities is the land‑use right transfer fee. In addition to subsidy incentives, this round of policy guidelines has further refined related regulations on land‑use right transfers. For example, for additional public parking spaces constructed on existing, self‑owned land, if the land was originally allocated and its original designated use still complies with allocation‑based land‑use policies, it may continue to be used under the same allocation regime. Moreover, if all construction requirements stipulated at the time of land grant are met and, following planning review and approval, the land use remains unchanged, no adjustment will be made to the land‑use right transfer fee. Similarly, when developing public parking facilities in underground spaces beneath urban roads, plazas, parks, green spaces, and other public amenities—where land is provided through paid transfers—the land‑use right transfer fee may be waived for levels three floors below ground or deeper.
