By Majorie van Leijen

Over the last couple of weeks, residents in Dubai have been handed out their Makani number.

If you are living in a standalone structure, you were most likely given your own Makani number. Residents of multi-storey buildings can probably find the unique code of their building in the lobby.



What is this number, and how can it be used?

Residents of multi-storey buildings can probably find the unique code of their building in the lobby [Supplied]



The Makani number is a unique 10 digit code locating a building. Be it a villa, high-rise, hospital, tower or office, every structure in Dubai has been numbered, and every number is unique.



With this number, a person can locate himself or others within a squared-meter precision.



Makani is an application developed by the Dubai Municipality, aimed at improving location finding in the emirate. Emergency vehicles, delivery people, or individuals should never get lost in their attempt to finding a certain address.



As Dubai does not have a traditional addressing system, location finding can be problematic. Although streets are currently named in an effort to make locations more recognisable, the unique number will leave one in no doubt about the place to be found.



“A 10-digit number has been given to each building and every location, including government organisations, hospitals, parks, commercial buildings, houses, factories, warehouses, etc,” explained Abdul Hakim, Director of GIS Department at Dubai Municipality earlier.



“When a location has several entrances, each entrance is given a different coordinate. For example, when you search for Dubai Mall, the application will give you the boundaries of the mall and all the entrances. Each entrance has a different coordinate.”



How and when to use it?



The Makani system is part of the official addressing system in Dubai and will be used by all government organisations, police, ambulance and companies. This means that an ambulance on its way might ask for your Makani coordinates.



In order to be found, a person only needs to provide the ten-digit code. Therefore, it is important to have the code at hand. If you have a sticker with the code, place it somewhere easy to be seen. When the code is for a building you live in, take a picture of the code, or write it down on a piece of paper.



The code of your location can also be found through the Makani application. “To find out the coordinates of a destination, the user can type the name of the building or location in the search bar, and click on the desired result. A second option is to zoom in on the map, clicking on the building or location once visible. With the satellite option, it is easy to recognise the location,” explained Abdul Hakim.



For someone on the road, the application is available in the form of a GPS navigator, launched in partnership with Garmin. But directions are also provided by the smart application, offering routes by car, public transport and on foot.



The app can be found in the Appstore and GooglePlay under the name Makani Dubai. The application is also available as a website.







Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.