GIS: Three years after the project was initiated, the city’s addressing system will take off next month with Thimphu thromde and Bhutan Post launching the mail delivery system along Norzin Lam and Chang Lam.

Given the increasing population, and in an absence of a centralised address system, the capital city lacks a common standard of addresses making door-to-door service delivery non-existent.

On government directives in July 2010, the joint project was initiated to develop a Geographic Information System (GIS) based city addressing system to provide efficient door-to-door service delivery.

“Every city in the world has an address system and all parcels and mails are delivered at their doorstep but in our country, even our capital city doesn’t have addresses for homes,” the thrompon, Kinlay Dorjee, said. “We get everything delivered to our office address.”

He said it was high time that the city developed a proper addressing system.  To make the city addressing system functional and its residents aware, the thromde is starting with the pilot project.

The installation of mail boxes in the pilot area, at the cost of the property owner is today partially completed.  Most building owners in the pilot area have accepted the installation of mailboxes, since both the tenants and house owners require the facility, the thrompon said.

The facility is expected to benefit government offices, as well as public-oriented entities, in issuing notices, distribution of bills, newspaper, product advertisement, locating clients for delivery of parcels, or food, among others.

The thrompon added that it was important for all users to understand that the services provided by the utility service providers could be centralised and done by Bhutan Post at a minimal fee.

To have a proper address, every road has to be named and buildings numbered.  An urban address will have the name of the addressee, building number, flat number, and unit/shop number, street name and a postal code.

The thromde is in the process of installing the street names in the capital and, by the end of this month, all street signboards will be installed.

By Dechen Tshomo