Excellence in Public Infrastructure Innovation for Inclusive Urban Mobility

Salik Company PJSC is Dubai's exclusive road toll operator, enabling safe, efficient, and sustainable mobility across the city. Listed on the Dubai Financial Market, Salik operates a fully electronic, barrier-free tolling system supporting smart transport, climate action, strong governance, and community value, aligned with Dubai's long-term sustainability and innovation goals.

Overview

As Dubai's exclusive toll operator under a long-term public concession, Salik plays a critical public role in enabling efficient mobility across one of the world's fastest-growing cities. In 2024, Salik demonstrated how a public enterprise can innovate beyond traditional service delivery, embedding sustainability, inclusivity, and financial discipline directly into essential infrastructure, while delivering measurable value to society.

Salik's innovation is purposeful and transformative, reshaping how public tolling infrastructure is powered, accessed, and governed to serve broader public priorities.

Innovation Embedded in Public Infrastructure

In 2024, Salik integrated renewable energy directly into live tolling operations. Two newly commissioned toll gates, Business Bay Crossing and Al Safa South are nearly 90% solar-powered, reducing reliance on grid electricity while maintaining uninterrupted traffic flow. This repositioned toll gates from passive revenue assets into contributors to Dubai's clean energy transition.

In parallel, Salik advanced a fully digital, paperless operating model, with virtually all customer transactions conducted through digital platforms. This eliminated physical documentation, strengthened operational resilience, and reduced emissions by approximately 4.9 tonnes of COe annually.

Quantified Public Value and Inclusive Access

Salik's innovation is distinguished by its scale of public benefit. In 2024, the company enabled 8.9 million toll-free trips for public transport, school buses, emergency services, and people of determination. At the regulated toll rate of AED 4 per trip, this represents an estimated AED 35.6 million in direct financial relief, delivered seamlessly through the tolling system to essential public services and priority community groups.

To accelerate the transition to cleaner transport, Salik also waived tag activation fees for more than 17,000 electric vehicles, removing a cost barrier to EV adoption and directly supporting Dubai's Green Mobility Strategy. This initiative recorded a nearly 28% year-on-year increase in participating EVs, reinforcing public adoption of low-emission transport.

Platform Innovation and Scalable Public Services

Beyond tolling, Salik extended its digital architecture to deliver additional public-facing services without increasing physical infrastructure. In 2024, Salik launched barrier-free, ticket-less parking at Dubai Mall and expanded nationally through integration with Parkonic, the UAE's largest private parking operator. Leveraging automatic number-plate recognition and existing Salik accounts, these services reduced congestion, eliminated queuing, and improved the end-to-end mobility experience.

This approach demonstrates how public enterprises can scale innovation efficiently, maximise asset utilisation, and enhance citizen experience without duplicating systems or increasing capital intensity.

Financial Strength and Governance-Led Innovation

Salik's innovation programme is underpinned by strong governance and public accountability. In 2024, Salik maintained an EBITDA margin of 68.9%, generated AED 2.3 billion in revenue, and distributed 100% of distributable net profit as dividends, proving that innovation in public enterprises can strengthen financial sustainability rather than dilute it. In 2025, Fitch Ratings upgraded Salik to 'A', citing strong financial performance, a resilient business model, and Dubai's improved credit quality. Moody's reaffirmed Salik's 'A3' rating, highlighting its stable outlook and strong linkage to the Government of Dubai. These ratings reinforce confidence in Salik's long-term public mandate.

These achievements reflect innovation across organizational management, corporate social responsibility, financial management, customer service, information technology, and public service design.

Why This Innovation Matters?

Salik's 2024 performance demonstrates how public enterprises can deliver -

• Public value at scale, through millions of inclusive journeys
• Environmental impact, embedded directly into core infrastructure design
• Digital efficiency, reducing friction for citizens and government
• Financial resilience, ensuring long-term sustainability of public assets

This model shows how essential public infrastructure can be modernized responsibly delivering inclusive, sustainable, and economically robust outcomes.