RIYADH, 31 July 2006 — Saudi Arabia is setting global standards in using the latest technology in mail delivery. According to Dr. Usamah Altaf, vice president of the Saudi Post, beginning next year, Saudi and expatriate residents in the Kingdom can enjoy what some have only dreamed of — a mailing address that is as simple as your name and a zip code.
“In fact, you don’t even need to write down your name if you don’t want to, unless you would want to differentiate your mail from your wife’s,” Altaf explained.
No fuss. No mess. No post office boxes. Not even a street name is required on the envelope.
The new zip code system, which has already been established by the Saudi Post, not only covers the entire Kingdom, but the sophisticated technology used also enables to pinpoint a sender’s address even if it is in the Empty Quarter.
Saudi Post currently delivers letters to 4,500 locations within cities, towns and villages across the Kingdom.
Explaining how the new zip code works, Altaf said the entire Kingdom had been divided into eight postal regions. The zip code consists of five digits.
The first digit represents the name of the postal region; the second number represents the sector that indicates proximity to the two main axes that run horizontally and vertically in a city or town. In the capital, for example, the two main axes have been identified as King Fahd Road and Makkah Road. The third and fourth and fifth digits are created according to their locations in relation to the two axes.
Within a zip code, another two axes are identified. The codes then are organized according to their direction east or west, north or south. Some streets that have irregular shapes have their own digits so as to be able to identify the location within the street. A neighborhood in a district could have more than one zip code.
The number installed on a person’s door is associated with the street direction. The others are extended numbers used for locations within the same street. Hence, there is no need for a street name. Altaf said the Saudi Post was trying to educate people how to recognize their addresses according to the zip codes in the same way they recognize where a person lives with the help of his land phone number.
He said that any person in the Kingdom can obtain the new zip code by calling an operator at a toll free number and revealing the four digit numbers placed by the postal system at their doors. Another way is to log on to their website www.sp.com.sa
According to the new system, the Saudi Post will offer the service of delivering express mail right to your doorstep with the help of a sketch of the address. “There is no need for someone in the express service to call you and ask you to come collect your express mail from the office,” he said. “All they need to do is to ask you about these digits or the digits attached to your door and the street name. They can navigate through our system on our website and locate you.”
He said that by next year, people using navigating devices will be able to locate a person’s address according to zip codes. The new zip coding system would also be used in navigation systems in cars.
Another new service to be launched by the Saudi Post next year is the installation of mail kiosks in commercial centers and public areas. Anyone can drop a letter into the machine and type in the destination. The machine then verifies the weight and asks for the necessary payment so that an electronic stamp can be issued. After the money is deposited, the stamp is issued and the letter is saved to be picked up by the mailman.
