JEDDAH, 22 May 2005 — Some five million post boxes will be distributed among households in Riyadh as part of the Saudi Postal Corp’s efforts to distribute letters, parcels and money orders at the addressees’ doorsteps.
The corporation already has prepared a detailed directory of the capital city in association with the Zaki Mohamed Ali Farsi Consultancy in preparation for the new home delivery.
The 324-page directory contains information about the home service, maps of Riyadh and other parts of the Kingdom, names of roads and streets in Riyadh, and postal codes of ministries and government departments.
“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. It will be later introduced in the Makkah region and the Eastern Province before expanding to other parts of the country.
He said the new service was part of the corporation’s efforts to improve its services matching with the country’s massive development and business requirements. “The postal-address project aims at facilitating distribution of mail at the lowest cost, using modern technology,” he said.
Banten said the corporation conducted a detailed study with consultancy offices on the geography of various regions to implement the project, which requires all institutions and housing units to provide their full addresses.
The project also aims at making permanent residential addresses of Saudis and expatriates as data on identity cards. The corporation has completed technical requirements and prepared maps of all cities to implement the new service.
Banten said the new postal service will have a positive impact at economic, social and service levels. He urged Saudis and expatriates to make use of the new service.
Owners of residential units will be required to keep locked boxes in front of their buildings to hold letters. They also should subscribe to a post office box at the facility.
According to Al-Riyadh Arabic daily, Saudis and expatriates would require permanent postal addresses while presenting applications at government and service departments. The corporation also intends to provide a direct mail service, which can facilitate promotional campaigns. The maximum weight of a DM item is 50 grams, and the minimum volume is 500 items. Direct mail items will be nonreturnable.
According to Zaki Mohamed Ali Farsi, the new postal address system covers all parts of the Kingdom including villages.
“We have used the latest technology and digital maps for the purpose,” he said. The total area of the Kingdom has been divided into eight main postal regions, which are again divided into postal districts and sub-districts to locate the areas quickly with the help of postal codes.
