The municipality here has issued electronically 429 licenses for the construction of residential and commercial projects since the automated payment system “sadad” was launched in the last quarter of 2009. The electronic system contains the relevant application forms and the main conditions for issuing construction licenses, and is easy to use by both members of the public and the municipalities' engineers, Omar Al-Homaidan, head of the municipality's construction license department told Saudi Gazette. “Applicants must fill out the application form online before the municipality's engineer visits the proposed building site to write a report. Then the municipality will take the report and attach it to the completed application form. The documents will then be sent to the engineering office which will design a blueprint for the building,” Al-Homaidan explained. This electronic system saves both time and money as people have long complained about the length of time it has taken in the past to have a license issued and about extra fees charged by those who offer to facilitate the processing of municipality forms and paperwork. “Since the last quarter of 2009, we have not received any complaints about delays in receiving blueprints and licenses as we are now using the automated system instead of regular paperwork,” Al
