Cabinet has approved the continuation of a street naming and residential address initiative to help identify residences, speed up repairs and facilitate the future of international commerce. 

The Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, confirmed the policy continuation during her weekly programme on Friday. 

Fiame said the street and residential address naming project will begin in the Apia town area which will improve directions for the public. 

The project was first launched last year by the previous Government as part of an initiative designed to identify streets, services, and residences in Samoa in real time.

Its development was aided by the use of Global Positioning System technology.

The implementation of the project was planned to be carried out in phases with the ultimate aim to cover the whole country. 

The first phase of the street and residential address naming project was completed last year which covered the heart of Apia City areas within a 2 kilometre radius from the clock tower to Mulinu’u peninsula, Vaimoso to the west, and Apia and Moata’a to the east.

The project aims to further enhance the Government's response to national security threats and bolsters its response to national emergencies and disasters. 

It will also help Government utility services pinpoint targeted areas in need of repairs or maintenance.

The then Government said that it would bring about economic opportunities for the country as the world’s digital economy grows in coming decades.

According to the information paper supporting the Project, the essence of pinpointing and locating the right destination in a timely manner is an important component of efficient internal and international travel. 

Migration global patterns confirm that the people have become very mobile.

They have been commuting from their homes to work in cities and return back despite the long distances they have to ensure, due to fast and reliable transportation, infrastructure and technology nowadays.

Advancement in economic development results from prioritising service mobility and swift and reliable pinpointing of the locations of these services.

A taskforce for the project was approved by Cabinet last year which included: Ministry of the Prime Minister and Cabinet; Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Works, Transport and Infrastructure; Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment; Office of the Attorney General; Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development;  Ministry of Communications, Information and Technology; Land Transport Authority; Office of the Electoral Commissioner; Samoa Bureau of Statistics; Samoa Water Authority; Electric Power Corporation.