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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Unified Address System for Oman

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The consolidated address system seeks to unify standards according to the best global practices -


Kabeer Yousuf -


Muscat, Jan 31 -


Locating a place or guiding the Civil Defence in the event of an emergency will soon be easy as Oman is planning a “Unified Address System” that will “uniquely identify” every location in the country.


For the first time in the Sultanate’s history, each place will be distinctively demarcated and will include the building number, street name, city name, the governorate, the wilayat and the postal code, according to Dr Khalifa al Barwani, CEO of National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).


“One of the most prominent projects being undertaken by the NCSI is Unified Address System, besides the census, mail, population and housing,” said Dr Al Barwani.


“The consolidated address system seeks to unify standards and specifications in the Sultanate according to the best global practices. It allows everyone to use government services in an effective and secure manner across multiple channels,” he said.


Dr Khalifa, in his visual presentation to the State Council titled ‘Who We Are’, said the project aims to establish an “integrated system” that uses latest scientific technology such as geographic information systems (GIS) and digital maps.


The need for such a system was felt because both individuals and emergency service providers found it difficult and time-consuming to locate some places.


“The present system is mainly used by engineers and utility companies and requires people to know and remember various minute details of locations. Not only that, many streets are only numbered. Streets in different areas have the same number. The addresses are too complicated for the ordinary people, especially tourists, to locate,” said a cartographer.


The new address system involves “unified naming of streets” and the development of an “address standards manual”.


“NCSI is responsible for formulating a long-term national strategy for statistical development. It is committed to providing updates concerned to authorities and decision-makers with the latest statistics and information,” Dr Al Barwani added.


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