Mohammed bin Rashid announces transformation of Dubai into Smart City

Dubai: The Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, announced on Saturday a project to transform Dubai into a Smart City, where government services will be accessible, quick and efficient, using hi tech smart devices. He added that through the new project "we aim to harness the technology so as to better living conditions and new form of development," noting that the fibre optic network and high-speed wireless Internet will form the backbone of a new life in the city of Dubai". Sheikh Mohammed underlined that the project intends to extend better services to children, youth, businesspersons and tourists to avail a new form of quality life to all, adding that the modern cities require new tools and innovations. The Smart City project will enable public to transact with public departments using the smart phones any time, any day of the year. The project evolved from the previous e-Government programme of Dubai in accordance with the instruction of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid in June this year. In October 2001, the government of Dubai began its online presence when it launched the e-Government programme, linking government departments with their clients through the use of information and communication technology (ICT). The e-government system provided online portals for various government departments and enabled the public to transact with them online. H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, said the directives by Sheikh Mohammed called for immediate implementation of the project to complement the smart government project. He noted that the population would be core of the current project through the provision of advanced infrastructure and the fibre optic network and high-speed wireless Internet. The Dubai Crown Prince said all the initiatives launched by Sheikh Mohammed over the last 10 years regarding the technology and the Internet, ushered in different services and new form of life in Dubai. He added that Dubai will become one of the biggest world laboratories for interactive and government applications. The new project will also provide new information on weather, traffic, transport, health and education smart services, as well as entertainment and tourist services such as aviation services, restaurants and others. – Emirates News Agency, WAM