Dubai Smart City Initiative

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Dubai Smart city initiative KHALEEJ TIMES | ADvertISInG Supplement | tHurSDAy, mAy 29, 2014

Aiming high and smart

Focusing on six key areas, the Smart Government Initiative of the Dubai government is set to revolutionise the way we live

Our goal is for the entire city’s services and facilities to be available on smartphones... we want to provide a better quality of life for all His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai

Suneeti Ahuja-Kohli

W

hat began as an eGovernment era with the launch of a government portal in 2001 has transformed into a Smart Government initiative in just over a decade. If in 2001, the Dubai government’s intent was to streamline information from 24 local government departments through a single platform — www.dubai.ae, in 2014 plans are afoot to virtually integrate Dubai’s public and private sectors for a never-before experience. “Our goal is for the entire city’s services and facilities to be available on smartphones... we want to provide a better quality of life for all,” tweeted his highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UaE and Ruler of Dubai, in March this year shortly after announcing the Dubai Smart Government Initiative. aiming to capitalise on the high penetration of smart phone users in the UaE, which stands at over 72 per cent, the

Shaikh Mohammed during the launch of the Dubai Smart City project in March this year. Under the strategy, 1,000 government services will be digitised in the next three years. Smart Government initiative essays for revolutionary changes through six key pillars and 100 initiatives in transport, communications, infrastructure, electricity, economic services, and urban planning. Under the strategy 1,000 government services will go smart in the next three years. Every smartphone user will be able to access up-to-the-minute information on

traffic, entertainment, weather, tourism, dining, flights, emergency services and much more. the government also proposes to transform the way we travel. With free Wi-Fi on public transport, parks, taxis and infrastructure for charging stations for electric cars, you can expect to stay connected round the clock. taking the comfort of technology to the next level, the Roads and transport

authority (Rta) is planning to launch an app that will steer drivers to available parking. Rta also plans to implement a comprehensive plan to ensure access to provide the smartest transportation system in the world through development of traffic systems, transportation, and creation of a unified control centre for all means of transportation and traffic. By the end of 2015, it plans to provide more than

200 services using smartphones. alongside, the Dubai Electricity and Water authority (DEWa) is leapfrogging with its environmental friendly approach. taking a step towards a greener society, the authority will install smart metres for customers to monitor the power and water usage in real time. also, consumers would be allowed to install a smart power grid that enables households to generate and sell their own solar power. the next three years would be extremely interesting, as Dubai adds another dimension to data gathering process. It plans to build a 5-D control room, the world’s largest room, which will be used to follow up on the process of transformation of the emirates. It will also be a focal point for information on government projects and service indicators, roads, weather conditions and emergency situations, etc. Besides this, there are plans to erect the

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