ISLAMABAD: A customised drone was used on Friday to test food delivery by Pakistan’s leading food delivery company.

The test flight of the drone conducted in association with the office of the deputy commissioner Islamabad — named ‘Pandafly’ — took place in the F-9 Park.

The use of disruptive technology by Foodpanda means faster deliveries over longer distances.

Customers living in peri-urban and remote areas will especially benefit from this initiative as they have limited food delivery options in their local area so with drone delivery they will be able to order food from main urban centres as well.

The last mile of delivery by drone will be completed by a Foodpanda rider.

It must be noted that this is the first of its kind commercial drone made in Pakistan for this purpose.

Expressing his views, Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Hamza Shafqaat said: “E-commerce and the use of technology to serve the citizens is definitely the future and the Islamabad civil administration stands committed to supporting anyone who takes the initiative to provide greater convenience and facilities for the public.”

He said the district administration was adopting innovative technologies by launching the City App to provide 40 services in various sectors to the people.

With access to technology in public sectors, the administration has expanded its revenue collection from Rs4 billion to Rs10 billion annually.

Speaking at the pilot launch, Nauman Sikandar Mirza, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Foodpanda, said: “Foodpanda’s core ethos is to constantly innovate, stretch the limits and leverage technology to find great solutions for meeting the evolving needs of the people.

“Before we start actual drone deliveries for our customers, there are still many aspects that need to be thoroughly evaluated and locked in, including technical, operational and legal matters and we are vigorously addressing all these. The successful test flight and delivery today has been highly encouraging and proves we are on the right flight path.”

Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2021