The company will provide the technology to design and produce smart cards, which will be the single most important and multi-purpose identification document for every UAE national and expatriate resident. The French company won the contract after being short-listed from 22 global bidders.
After signing the contract, Sheikh Saif said the ministry will start issuing the new NIC after more than a year when the entire project, including installation of electronic machines, is complete.
He said 22 registration centres will be established throughout the country where the smart card producing machines will be installed for issuing the NIC. The registration process will begin ahead of issuing of the cards.
The project will be fully implemented after three years when all the residents above 15 years will hold the card.
The Undersecretary said: "The project will be implemented in phases over three years. Once completed, the unified NIC will serve as the single most important identification document for each UAE national and resident expatriate."
Sheikh Saif added that every resident will be allotted a personal national identity number, which the card will bear, as the number the holder will have for life.
"The card will serve a wide range of purposes. It will be of great benefit to the UAE society as its holders will have easy access to socio-economic services, ranging from services rendered by Ministry of Interior to health and banking services."
He added that there will be no need for resident expatriates to present their passports or driving licences as the card will contain all details of the driving licence, passport, health card, the ATM card and many other personal details.
"There will be no need for anybody to carry as many cards as is the case currently. It is in fact many cards in one."
About the project, Sheikh Saif said that it was conceived in 2000 after a comprehensive study as part of the ongoing efforts to achieve full e-government system.
"When its viability was established, President His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan issued instructions to proceed with the project. The ministry of Interior took steps to implement the project. Specifications for the cards were laid down and tender was placed for international competitor."
Sheikh Saif also explained that all residents will have their personal records stored in a central database linked to all the government establishments to access with the help of the personal identity number. He said that the smart NIC will also replace other government identity cards.
"The interior ministry will negotiate with other government departments and establishments to merge their cards into the single NIC after signing agreements with them."
He added that the same procedures will also be adopted with the banks and Etisalat. "It will be a multi-purpose card, which will also act as a crime preventing tool, at the same time serving as an effective mechanism for social services."
Lieutenant Colonel Ahmed Nassir Al Raisi, Head of the Information Technology Depart-ment at the Abu Dhabi Police, explaining the security aspects of the card, said having a unified number will eliminate forgery and related crime.
"With that card in place, we will be able to identify every UAE national and resident expatriate through his/her biological features contained in the card, which will have 32K memory. The card itself will be foolproof and cannot be forged.
He said a law will be issued declaring that those who fail to obtain the cards will be denied services that the card provides.
The card will be issued to UAE nationals against a fee of Dh100, while expatriate residents will be charged Dh300. The card will be issued to a holder for life, therefore they will have to pay once only.
The Abu Dhabi Police official said that newborns will be allotted the identification number at birth and the NIC be issued when they reach the age of 15.
Once implemented, the project will also provide up-to-date database that is needed by policy makers, said Dr Saeed Al Dhahiri, Project Advisor at the Abu Dhabi Police.
"The data available will provide the latest information on population increase minute by minute and hour by hour," he said, adding that it will also mark a comprehensive e-government.
Quelle: Gulf News
