Meituan aims to be the first company in China's southern tech hub Shenzhen to deliver orders to customers using drones, after launching a trial operation in the city's commercial district.
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Meituan’s application to introduce a drone delivery service, submitted in September, is under review by aviation authorities, Mao Yinian, head of the company’s drone delivery unit, said in an interview. The process typically takes one to two years, and the company expects to receive the green light in 2022, Mao said.
The Beijing-based company is also working closely with other relevant authorities to comply with various rules and regulations, including the Public Security Bureau, which handles security issues, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which oversees hardware and telecommunications, Mao said.
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The city of Shenzhen, chosen by Beijing to spearhead the country's reform of low-altitude aviation policies, is likely to become the first city in the world to commercialize the use of drones in logistics operations, according to Mao.
Meituan launched a trial operation on Friday to use drones to deliver meals within a 3-kilometer radius around Shenzhen Longgang Galaxy Coco Park, a shopping and office complex in the eastern part of the city. It followed seven similar trials conducted in residential areas across the city earlier this year.
Users who want to have their food delivered by drone can place their orders with eligible merchants through the Meituan app. A rider would deliver the meal from the restaurant to a drone, which was parked on the rooftop of the Coco Park shopping mall. The drone would then fly to an “M-port” – a kiosk that doubles as a landing spot – where people can pick up their orders by entering a password.
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Meituan, China's largest food delivery service provider with a 68.5 percent market share in 2020, is not the only Chinese tech company eyeing the drone delivery market.
Information source: scmp.com
