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RIYADH: The Saudi Ministry of Municipalities and Housing launched the Home Delivery Permit service for food and non-food delivery establishments via the Balady platform, Saudi Press Agency reported Tuesday.

This initiative supports ongoing efforts to enhance the quality of life and elevate safety and compliance standards within the delivery sector across the Kingdom.

The delivery service aims to regulate delivery operations within cities by ensuring establishments comply with health and technical requirements, thereby contributing to a safe and efficient environment that enhances consumer confidence.

The requirements for the permit include obtaining a health certificate for all home delivery service workers, securing approval from the authority supervising the commercial activity, clearly displaying the establishment’s name or trademark on delivery vehicles, and ensuring these vehicles comply with the technical and health standards necessary for safe product transportation.

The ministry explained that mandatory enforcement of license issuance will begin on July 1, 2025.

Municipalities will carry out field inspections to ensure compliance and will take regulatory action against violators.

Business owners can apply for the home delivery permit through the Balady platform by visiting: https://balady.gov.sa/en/services/issue-home-delivery-permit.

This initiative is part of the ministry’s broader efforts to develop the regulatory framework for the services sector and to ensure the provision of safe delivery services, in line with the objectives of the Saudi Vision 2030.

Last month, the ministry announced the launch of the Balady Plus app — an intelligent platform aimed at enhancing quality of life in Saudi cities and facilitating daily mobility for residents and visitors.

According to the ministry, Balady Plus was developed by national talents to be more than just a navigation tool. It offers an interactive 3D map experience with precise local content that reflects the real landscape of Saudi cities and adapts to their changes in real time.

The application features smart mobility services, including live updates on roads, locations, and services. It also supports indoor navigation in commercial centers, alerts users about speed bumps, obstacles, and road closures, and integrates data from government entities and the local community.

Jeddah: ������Ƶ’s National Center for Environmental Compliance has begun using new satellite monitoring technologies to protect the environment for this year’s Hajj.

The NCEC uses satellite data to monitor and analyze environmental media, including air, water and soil quality. 

The center relies on satellites to monitor environmental challenges across wide geographic areas at high speed, enabling emergency teams to quickly reach affected sites.

Hani Al-Subhi, director-general of the Makkah Region branch, spoke to Arab News about the center’s use of satellite technology.

“These technologies help pinpoint the precise locations of environmental challenges, facilitating a rapid response and enhancing the provision of a healthy, pollutant-free environment for pilgrims,” he said

Meanwhile, Abu Talib Zaki, a technical expert in monitoring, spoke about how the center cooperates with King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology to collect two types of satellite imagery.

The first is passive remote sensing, which measures reflections of light emitted from other objects.

The second is active remote sensing, which uses light from the satellite itself to create images.

The spatial resolution of the images used reaches 30 cm, meaning that each pixel of the image covers 30x30 cm, allowing for high-precision monitoring of environmental phenomena.

The National Center for Environmental Compliance earlier this week completed 90 percent of the preemptive inspections to ensure the safety of water, air, and soil for Hajj.

Monitoring efforts will continue until pilgrims complete their rituals in a healthy, pollutant-free environment.

The center also uses nine air quality monitoring stations — six located in Makkah and the holy sites and three in Madinah.

These stations operate around the clock to measure air quality, and if any pollutant is detected, field teams are dispatched immediately to the site to identify the source and coordinate with the authorities to eliminate the cause of pollution.