JEDDAH, 18 October 2004 — The Saudi Postal Corporation will start distributing letters, parcels and money orders at the addressees’ doorsteps from next month as part of its efforts to modernize postal services.
“The new service will be implemented gradually, beginning with Riyadh, and will use advanced maps to locate houses and institutions,” said Dr. Muhammad Banten, president of the corporation.
The project requires all institutions and housing units in the country to provide their full addresses to help postal officials deliver mail without difficulty.
“Our new operational strategy offers thousands of jobs to young Saudis at short and medium terms,” Banten said and urged citizens and residents to make use of the new service.
“The project also aims at making permanent residential addresses of Saudis and expatriates as part of identity cards,” Al-Watan Arabic daily reported.
The corporation has completed technical requirements and prepared maps of all cities to implement the new service.
The new postal service will have positive impact at economic, social and service levels, Banten said. “It will also improve the postal service and help people enjoy modern service of international standard,” he added.
The service will be introduced shortly after a large-scale media campaign aimed at informing the public on the need to provide their full addresses to make the project a success.
Owners of residential units are required to keep locked boxes in front of their buildings to put letters. They should also subscribe to a post box in the nearest post office.
According to Al-Riyadh Arabic daily, Saudis and expatriates would require permanent postal addresses while presenting applications at government and service departments.
All institutions in the Kingdom will be given a postal address and can be located through maps. The corporation is expected to announce further details of the service within the next few weeks, Al-Riyadh said.
The corporation also intends to provide a direct mail service, which can facilitate promotional campaigns. The maximum weight of a DM item is 50 gram and the minimum volume is 500 items. The DM items are not returned to the sender in case of non-delivery.
