IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Smart cities, drones, robots, cloud services, small-medium start-ups and 3D printers ruled the 36th edition of GITEX Dubai that concluded recently at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

The five-day technology event which was attended by students, tech-enthusiasts, businessmen and entrepreneurs was inaugurated by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammad bin Rashid al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and chairman of Dubai Executive Council.

The fifth edition of the Sultan Qaboos Award for Excellence in eGovernment was announced on Monday.

Organisers said there will be three new categories this year including the Best eTransformation achievement, Best service supporting doing business and the Best eParticipation for decision-making initiative.

A master plan for the establishment of Sohar Smart City has been released by global architecture and design studio Hassell.

It was appointed by Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning to design a master plan that will position Sohar as a centre of trade, commerce and innovation by 2040.

Part of the broader Sohar Master Plan, the new city will capitalise on the economic growth resulting from the free port and arrival of an international rail link to Abu Dhabi. It will include over 19,000 new homes and 520,000sqm of office space, besides schools, mosques, hospitals and a new commuter railway station.

The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union.

In an interview with Times of Oman, John Dalli, who was in Oman to participate in the recently held Oman Health Summit said, “All of us (countries) are faced with the same problem – aging populations, accessibility and sustainability. So the common solutions are heavier investment in prevention, decentralising healthcare pushing cure away from the tertiary into the primary sector with interoperable facilities and investment in technology, especially eHealth.”

Delegates to the recent Comex 2015 were treated to two very informative presentations courtesy of Nortal, the leading Open Source software provider for mission critical solutions in the fields of Government, Healthcare, Industry and TIME (Telecom, Internet, Media and Entertainment. With an active office branch in Muscat, Nortal had a strong presence at the conference and exhibition which saw many industry experts, solution providers and end users convene to explore the theme 'Disruptive technologies for fast tracking National Growth'.

Assessment

On the coming stages of the Award, Fatma Al Riyamia, Director of Operational Excellence, says: "The award committee has already started assessing the submitted projects using different means including Site Visit Review from professional assessors who will communicate their findings to the Jury panel to assist in their evaluation, Public voting for certain projects in which public can vote for these projects from 27th to 29th October through www.ita.gov.om/hmaward and 5 lucky winners will receive OMR 100. The assessment methods also includes eMystery shopping which is an internet-oriented sightless shopping service aimed to assess applications from different aspects, as well as eHealth Checks that aim to analyze and assess websites and online services through regular audits. These methods serve as pre-evaluation that will definitely support the Jury in their task,"

With the closing of entries for the fourth edition, the awards will include 58 projects from 27 government entities and seven from an equal number of private organisations. This is in addition to five projects from SMEs participating for the first time, according to ITA officials.

However, the largest part of the technological potential have not been fully exploited hitherto, with the majority of the people confining their use of technology to entertainment purposes, though I am not sure whether this trend exists only in the developing countries or it is commonplace in advanced nation as well. But I know for certain that such misuse or non-use of technology is there at least in my social surroundings by which I mean my own household and workplace. Some people at offices are not making the most of electronic services and they are dealing with technology as a mere luxury, thereby missing the chance of accomplishing the work in a faster and more effective manner.

The proposed model demonstrates real-world effectiveness in reducing fuel consumption, labor costs, and emissions by leveraging AI for route optimization and ultrasonic sensors for real-time waste level monitoring. The outcome is a data-driven system that responds to bin capacity in real time, dramatically reducing unnecessary collection trips and landfill overflow.

In the race to modernize urban infrastructure and meet aggressive sustainability targets, Oman is making a bold leap. A pioneering waste management system powered by Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and artificial intelligence is redefining how cities collect, process, and optimize municipal waste.

Al Sharqiyah North Governorate continues to make steady progress on the path of government digital transformation, achieving tangible and qualitative advancements throughout 2025. This progress is reflected in a specialised package of digital projects and initiatives, alongside a systematic expansion in service automation. These efforts align with the objectives of the National Programme for Government Digital Transformation (Tahawul) and the strategic directions of Oman Vision 2040 towards an integrated digital government that meets community aspirations and supports comprehensive development.

He added that the broad band networks have become as important as roads and electricity networks in many countries and they are seen as part of the basic infrastructure in modern society because of the great role played by broad band and pushing forward the wheel of economic and social development, support of competitive capability and economic sectors, increase living standards, in addition to the development of applications and general services that are linked to broad band like e-government, e-health, education and trade services.

Fatma al Riyami, Project Manager for the Sultan Qaboos Award for Excellence in eGovernment, gave the welcoming address.

Following the opening remarks, Dr Bader Salim al Manthari, Executive — Information Security at ITA, and Giridhar Mechiri, an ITA Consultant, and members of the Award Evaluation Criteria Committee, gave a comprehensive presentation covering all aspects of the award.

In a strategic move to accelerate digital transformation and strengthen digital infrastructure in Dhofar Governorate, Awasr has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dhofar Municipality on July 10. The agreement outlines joint efforts to study and implement a range of advanced technology and service projects designed to enhance quality of life and improve public service efficiency across the region.

The MoU was formalised at Dhofar Municipality headquarters in Salalah by Dr Ahmed bin Mohsin al Ghassani, Chairman of Dhofar Municipality and Eng Adnan bin Mohammed al Alawi, Chief Executive Officer of Awasr.

Oman’s Bank Muscat launched bio-metric identification system with the help of Royal Oman Police (ROP).

The biometric system compatible with the Sultanate’s national identification card (NID) is the first of its kind in the banking sector in Oman.

The unique biometric identification system available across the bank’s network of 139 branches provides the latest solution in national identity for banking services. Aimed at improving efficiency and speed of transaction processing, the NID enables accurate data capture during banking transactions, especially when opening new accounts.

Oman’s first mobile wallet launched by Bank Muscat, the flagship financial services provider in the sultanate, has evoked a strong response.

The innovative bm Wallet marks yet another secure and convenient payment channel, reiterating the bank’s strong lead in rolling out electronic payment facility as part of the country’s e-Government initiative.

Developments linked to e-Government in Oman is the motivation behind our innovative initiatives.

For the past several years, Oman has been experiencing strong growth of mobile broadband, but has been lagging behind other regional countries in terms of fixed broadband availability. In October 2013, the Council of Ministers announced their decision to establish a new company to provide broadband infrastructure and services to all residents in the Sultanate. This new company, Oman Broadband Company (OBC), started operations in January this year.

Said al Mandhari, CEO, OBC, spoke exclusively to the Observer in detail about the overall contribution of broadband to the national economies, along with the structure and vision of OBC.