IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Intended to be a 110 miles long smart city with a population of nine million, resulting in a population density 38 times that of Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia’s ‘The Line’ raises questions as to whether it is merely a vanity project or an effective plan for some futuristic utopia.

Located in the province of Tabuk, near the border with Egypt, it is estimated to cost around $200 bn (some estimates placing it near $1 tn) and bring more than 400,000 jobs to the region.

Also attending the meeting were Huda Al Hashimi, Director of GRP Department, Dubai eGovernment, and Jassem Mohammed Obaid Sobait, Director of Finance and Administration, Mohammed Bin Rashid Housing Establishment (MRHE), which has successfully applied Dubai eGovernment's Loans Management System to manage and track all the housing loans granted to UAE nationals in Dubai.

The latest agreements between Saudi Arabia and South Africa, as the continent’s gateway, bode well for Africa in the fields of technological advancement and green energy alternatives, but Africa and the world’s 5G plans are set to come under fire at United Nations COP 27

With Saudi’s smart city, The Line, setting the pace as part of the Neom Mega City Project, and South Africa’s aspirations for three smart cities – Pretoria’s Mooikloof Mega City, the Eastern Cape’s African Coastal Smart City and Lanseria Smart City (interfacing Gauteng and Madiberg municipalities) – already well underway in the planning stages, things are looking rosy for South Africa’s chances for keeping up with world developments.

Employing advanced technology to operate these futuristic structures will be absolutely essential

With Saudi Arabia’s iconic and innovative giga projects becoming a reality, the kingdom’s real estate landscape is expanding at a phenomenal pace, creating an issue for building managers and an unrivalled opportunity for progressive and technically astute FM companies and professionals.

Employing advanced technology to operate these futuristic structures will be absolutely essential and as a consequence, facility managers will need to be conversant with how these hi-tech buildings function, in order to optimise efficiency, sustainability and safety.

The $7 billion hi tech project is designed to turn the Al Madinah region into a centre for knowledge based industry where young Saudi entrepreneurs can be trained and nurtured.

It also intends to attract the best Muslim Information Communications Technology talent from around the world to the second most holy city of Islam.

Billionaires are planning several cities that don't allow human-driven vehicles.

Over the years, MotorTrend and I have covered enough tech and innovation to be convinced that the remaining barriers to self-driving vehicles are primarily legal or political, and secondarily logistical. A new opportunity proposes a potentially easy shortcut: To build a new utopian "smart city" completely from scratch—from the infrastructure and political landscape up—and allow no human-driven vehicles from the start.

Quantum security company Arqit has won a deal to provide security for the Saudi Arabian project to build a new smart city, Neom.

Arqit says that, once developed, its software will be able to defend other so-called cognitive cities against cyber-attacks. The system has global export potential, said the company.

David Williams, founder and chairman of Arqit, said the company will use a distributed ledger technology called Quantum Blockchain, which is “designed to deliver financial payments and smart contracts in a way that is sustainable, energy-efficient and can manage instantaneous transactions at close to zero cost”.

The 'Issuance of Insurance Policies for King Fahad Causeway' will be up and running at the eGA's portal to ensure quick process of insuring travellers' vehicles at the causeway and avoid long queues at insurance outlets.

Telecommunications Minister Siyabonga Cwele has said that government has begun its push to provide broadband to all South Africans.

Government is implementing its broadband policy which will ensure that South Africans have access to fast, reliable, secure and affordable internet.

“Through the broadband rollout, government intends to accelerate the delivery of broadband to government offices, communities and Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises (SMMEs),” said Telecommunications and Postal Services Minister Siyabonga Cwele.

The UAE residents going to Saudi Arabia for Hajj, Umrah or any other visit are expected to undergo biometrics tests very soon, an official said on Monday.

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has designated Dubai-based VFS TasHeel International to launch biometrics pilot project for visa purposes in the UAE and other countries.

A gathering of stars, businesspeople and dignitaries from Baroness Helena Morrissey to adventurer Bear Grylls celebrated the creation of a $500 billion “smart city” called Neom on Tuesday night.

The city, which will be run using robots and free of cars, might read like something from a utopian sci-fi novel but according to executives at this week’s ‘Discover Neom’ event at Spencer House in central London, it’s about to become a reality in Saudi Arabia, where the crown prince Mohammed bin Salman has already designated an area in the country’s northwest region close to the Suez Canal, near its borders with Jordan and Egypt.

The framework of the partnership foresees the application of the company's decade-long expertise and extensive statistical databases for maintaining the country's strategic assets

The Ctrl2GO global provider of predictive analytics and maintenance services has announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership agreement with Saudi Arabia. The framework of the partnership foresees the application of the company's decade-long expertise and extensive statistical databases for maintaining the country's strategic assets.

Two Saudi companies have been given a green light to develop data centres in one of Saudi Arabia’s newest – and possibly smartest – cities.

Permission was given by The General Authority of Competition in Saudi Arabia for the companies – Neom and FAS Energy – to develop and operate data centres in a planned Saudi city, also called, by no coincidence, Neom.

Half a million jobs are expected to be created in Saudi Arabia from nationwide digital transformation by 2020, experts commented today on a recent report by The Economist Corporate Network.

The Kingdom faces a crucial juncture in its economic growth and youth employment. Through 2025, the Kingdom will see 226,000 new entrants into the labour market per year, with the Saudi working age population reaching 17.9 million, according to the report, Shaping the Future of Work.

Dagang NeXchange Bhd (DNeX) and Ajlan & Bros Holding Group have teamed up to "revolutionise" smart cities integration and large IT projects in Saudi Arabia as well as other countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Both companies signed an agreement to establish a joint-venture company for the purpose on Thursday during Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's three-day official visit to the kingdom.

Leveraging its expertise in digital twins, urban intelligence, and navigation

Urbi, a leading geo-intelligence company, is proud to announce its strategic partnership with LEAP 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the world's most attended tech event where attendees journey into new worlds, set to welcome more than 1,800 global tech exhibitors. Leveraging its expertise in digital twins, urban intelligence, and navigation, Urbi, as a strategic partner, will provide attendees with seamless indoor routing experiences, ensuring they can effortlessly explore the exhibition and maximize their engagement with the latest technologies and innovations.

This is part of the e-gate system being introduced by the Directorate General of Passports at all the Kingdom's airports, said a senior official at the directorate, reported Al-Watan Arabic newspaper.

However, travelers must still have their passports with them because this is a requirement in other countries.

Maj. Gen. Abdul Rahman Al-Muqbil, director general of the department, said the services would cover transfer of vehicle ownership, identifying actual owner, information on traffic fines and car insurance, and authorizing others to drive the car inside and outside the Kingdom.

“We have decided to publish the electronic version to cope with modern developments,” according to Mamdouh Ba-Owaidan, the centre’s director.