Why the new address system in Abu Dhabi will help everyone

Abu Dhabi will finally get an address system when the Onwani system is completed at the end of next year. This is good news for everyone.

For a prosperous capital with an unwavering focus on the future, the absence of a formal address system in Abu Dhabi is a curious relic harking back to the city’s earliest days.

While there is a certain offbeat charm to giving directions using a mix of landmarks and distinctively-named small businesses, one suspects few will mourn when the new scheme provides every building in the emirate with a unique address.

The benefits of the “Onwani” (My Address) scheme are many.

It will save lives by allowing emergency services such as ambulances, fire engines and police to go straight to where they are needed.

Entrepreneurs also have been hindered by the old system. All around the world, smart and resourceful people have turned their back rooms into small businesses using the internet as the primary marketing tool.

Abu Dhabi’s highly connected populace means the online shopping model should work well here, but the city’s advantages in that field are offset by the difficulty of ensuring the reliable delivery of goods.

Quite apart from those considerations, Abu Dhabi is a city which is always welcoming large numbers of new residents, making a simple and accessible address system doubly important.

However this poses other questions. While the broad strokes of the address scheme were announced – every building in Abu Dhabi will have a unique address by the end of next year and every street will have a name – the details about how it will work remain undisclosed.

One question that needs resolving is that while the address system is intended for official, commercial and individual use, will a smartphone or GPS device be required to take full advantage?

Although residents of the UAE have generally enthusiastically adopted smartphones, a digital divide still exists within this nation.

Nobody should underestimate the scale of the task ahead. Across the emirate, 12,000 street names, 200 district names and 20,000 road signs will be created. In addition, 200,000 addresses will be simplified.

There will, inevitably, be a period of adjustment, like with any significant change. It will take people time to learn the new names and thoroughfares.

That will be temporary. The legacy will be a simple address system and for most residents, the question will be: How did we cope before?