The Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs launched the first «Guest Service» centers at the Al-Nakheel Mall in northern Riyadh, where the Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs, Engineer Abdul Latif bin Abdul Malik Al Sheikh, inaugurated the «Guest Service» center at Al-Nakheel Mall, emphasizing that his ministry, its departments, and all its executive branches—in light of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 and as part of the National Transformation Program—are striving to improve all municipal services and achieve sustainable and balanced development in all cities and regions of the Kingdom.
An integrated center
Al-Sheikh explained that the center is the first of its kind designed to welcome visitors as guests and provide integrated municipal services without the need to visit the municipality, noting that the center will serve as a model for municipal service centers that will be opened successively in all regions and governorates of the Kingdom in the coming period, with the aim of making it easier for citizens to complete all transactions without the hassle of visiting municipal offices, through unified centers, These centers are equipped with the latest technology to serve visitors within a few minutes, treating citizens as welcome guests rather than mere applicants.
Engineer Al-Sheikh stated that among the Ministry’s goals and ambitious strategic aspirations is to simplify and unify procedures under a single national umbrella, namely «Baladi Portal,» in order to elevate services for beneficiaries of the municipal sector to a new level based on the use of modern and advanced technologies, and to promote practices centered on end-user satisfaction, noting that through this portal, the municipal sector was able to issue «300» instant professional licenses during the first quarter of 2017.
Advanced e-services
Engineer Al-Sheikh emphasized that the Ministry is working toward full automation through the «Baladi» portal to provide an e-service that enables users to issue permits and related documents, shortens service delivery times, and allows services to be accessed via electronic channels anytime and anywhere through smart devices, thereby eliminating the need for service applicants to appear in person to obtain municipal services, To date, connections have been established with 12 government agencies, most notably the "Absher" program at the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Commerce, and others.
The Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs stated that the municipal sector has focused on leveraging the efforts of service centers to provide technical and technological support to customers, to facilitate their experience using the electronic portal, overcome obstacles, and provide a channel for receiving suggestions from beneficiaries to develop "the municipal sector."
municipal services
Engineer Al-Sheikh commended the Riyadh Municipality for its efforts to establish a municipal support center, which in turn helps raise the level of satisfaction with municipal services, and serves as the foundation for urban development centers that will host relevant government agencies and service companies to support the automation of services through a complementary relationship that achieves the highest levels of satisfaction among those dealing with the municipal sector—an end toward which the Ministry strives to channel all its efforts, in cooperation with its partners to crown its relentless efforts to take the lead in driving comprehensive development.
An Integrated Work Methodology
The Baladi Center is based on an integrated work methodology under the supervision of a Saudi team with extensive experience and high-level skills in the field of serving beneficiaries. The services currently provided by the center include "professional licenses, including business license renewals, changes to business activities, and replacement of lost licenses," as well as building permits such as the issuance of building permits, transfer of ownership, fencing permits, renovation permits, and others.
The center’s operational mechanism is designed to reduce the time required to obtain requested services and increase satisfaction levels through an advanced system that allows visitors to book appointments online and specify the required service, ensuring they have sufficient time to prepare all necessary documents before visiting the center toprocess the transaction. If the service requires an on-site visit by an inspector, the visit is scheduled online; after the visit and completion of all procedures, the beneficiary receives the requested service.
