Riyadh: Kakao Mobility Corp., South Korea's leading taxi-hailing service operator, announced it has signed a contract to provide comprehensive mobility solutions for Saudi Arabia's Diriyah smart city development project. Under a proof-of-concept (PoC) contract with Diriyah Company, the developer of the Saudi project, Kakao Mobility will deploy full-stack solutions at three main parking facilities with a combined capacity of 5,000 vehicles.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the solutions will include parking guidance and vacancy prediction based on demand forecasting, indoor positioning and navigation systems, as well as integrated payment services. The companies plan to expand the partnership to encompass the project's entire parking infrastructure, which will accommodate up to 60,000 vehicles, contingent on the successful operation of the initial project.

A PoC contract is a preliminary, legally binding agreement used to test the feasibility of a product or technology before full-scale implementation. The latest agreement builds on a memorandum of understanding signed in May.

"This contract marks an important step for Kakao Mobility as it seeks to expand into future mobility technologies in the global market," said Ryu Geung-seon, chief executive officer of Kakao Mobility. The Diriyah project aims to transform the historic town of Diriyah, near the capital Riyadh, into a cultural and tourism hub.