New addresses now cover 60 per cent of Abu Dhabi city

Al Maryah Island, Al Nahyan Camp, Bahia city and Al Falah new City now covered by the 'Onwani' addressing system.

ABU DHABI // The capital’s new address system has been implemented across 60 per cent of the city, the municipality announced.

The civic body aims to make the entire emirate navigable through the new system – Onwani – by October 2015.

It already covers Al Maryah Island, Al Nahyan Camp, Al Bahia and the new Al Falah development. It will also be rolled out in other areas, such as Al Ain.

The public will hear about the changes through a major advertising campaign, to be launched before the project’s completion date.

New street names will make use of Quick Response Codes (QR Codes) to provide additional information to smartphone users – such as map locations and the cultural significance of street names.

The Department of Municipal Affairs also plans on using the QR system to provide brief newscasts about events and activities taking place in certain areas.

Users will be able to scan the codes and gain access to hyper-localised news stories.

The Onwani initiative has been spearheaded by the department in collaboration with Abu Dhabi City Municipality, Al Ain City Municipality and the Western Region Municipality.

More than 65,000 homes and business are expected to be covered by the project.