Two e-gates installed at the airport's arrival area in February last year will be replaced with new ones later this month, said Interior Ministry assistant under-secretary for nationality, passports and residence Shaikh Ahmed bin Isa Al Khalifa.
"We are also going to instal two e-gates at the departure area this month," he told the GDN.
"Currently, more than 2,000 Bahraini passengers pass through the e-gates at the arrival point using their Smartcards instead of passports.
"This marks a major milestone in our e-government technology."
The launch of the e-gate service has come as an innovative initiative from the Bahrain government and is aimed at offering most accelerated and best services for travellers at the airport, said Shaikh Ahmed.
"The new service saves much time and effort by accelerating checks in time significantly where e-gate service depends on Smartcard identification system and fingerprints identification to carry out procedures for passengers," he said.
"The system provides the option to either go through normal gates or the new electronic gates, which save time and effort.
"One of the most important features of the e-gate is that it is provided free of charge, compared to other GCC countries which have imposed some fees for the same type of service."
Shaikh Ahmed said the launch of the e-gate was a qualitative move and a distinct achievement of Bahrain.
"This implementation of such national projects are aimed at supporting government services, easing the burdens on citizens and promoting the name of Bahrain internationally," he added.
A new software has been designed by e-government officials in Bahrain to expand the number of e-gates
The work was jointly done by the General Directorate of Nationality, Passports and Residence, Central Informatics Organisation (CIO) and the E-Government Agency.
"The service is now available only to Bahraini passengers who carry a smartcard," said Shaikh Ahmed.
"The GDNPR is studying a plan to make the services available to expatriate residents in Bahrain in the near future."
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Soman Baby
Quelle/Source: Gulf Daily News, 09.02.2009
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