A TRAFFIC system that shortens response time for emergency teams to reach an accident site was showcased during a two-day summit that kicked off in Bahrain yesterday.
The Interior Ministry’s General Directorate of Traffic revealed the new system during the opening of the sixth edition of the Bahrain Smart Cities Summit at the Gulf Hotel Bahrain, Adliya.
Around 250 participants including engineers, consultants and experts in the sectors of technology, sustainability and smart cities from government agencies from Bahrain, the GCC and other parts of the world are attending the event which is being held under the patronage of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture Minister Wael Al Mubarak.
“The main aim of this system is to enable us to respond to emergencies and incidents in a timely manner,” said Interior Ministry’s Mohamed Alsmadi.
“The system is now functional in the operations room and assesses the geographical location of an emergency or incident, allowing us to reduce the response time by sending teams that are closest to the area.”
The system automatically registers the location from which an emergency phone call is made and notifies the patrol teams.
“The system works in conjunction with other systems, not just in the ministry but also outside, to achieve the best possible result.
“It sends information to the responder in the operations room, by sending caller details including the geographical location, and those in the room can immediately refer the call or complaint to the relevant department.”
Captain Mohammed Taqi, from the General Directorate of Traffic, said the system played a crucial role in responding swiftly to prevent casualties.
“It allows us to work faster, better and more efficiently.”
Addressing the opening ceremony, Mr Al Mubarak said that ‘smart cities’ were the future.
“This summit brings forward some of the greatest minds in the field of technology and sustainability, and this is an opportunity to not just help the sector grow in Bahrain, but also an opportunity to show everyone what Bahrain can do,” he added.
“The goal is to bring together key stakeholders and industry experts to explore the latest innovations and trends in smart city technology, in order to provide opportunities for networking and collaboration.”
Several companies showcased their latest technology and innovations at the event.
The Information and eGovernment Authority (iGA) revealed an urban planning services portal called planning.bh where land owners can enquire about land subdivision, merging, rezoning, and check property information online.
Eman Ali, from the Urban Planning and Development Authority, said the portal was launched to reduce bureaucracy and paperwork, and make the services easy and more accessible to the people.
Similarly, people can look at the possibility of land mergers and rezoning by using a construction simulator.
Almoayyed Commercial Services showed off new state-of-the-art devices such as smart delivery robots and a cleaning robot running on solar panel.
The summit also featured a talk by Supreme Council for Environment’s head of department of hazardous chemicals and national ozone officer Hassan Mubarak on the future of air conditioning technology in Bahrain, and a talk by the Interior Ministry’s Major Yaseen Ebrahim on technology in the ministry’s operations room and security.
Meanwhile, the iGA won the ‘Smart Citizens Engagement Award’ at summit for the National Suggestions and Complaints System ‘Tawasul’.
“The award reflects the government’s efforts towards adopting technologies and providing advanced channels that reinforce communication between citizens and residents with the public entities and support government efforts and policies towards sustainable development,” said iGA chief executive Mohammed Al Qaed .
iGA is also showcasing several digital transformation projects and systems at the exhibition aimed at supporting the real estate development while also facilitating investor services.
Meanwhile, Naseej chief executive Amin Al Arrayed stressed the importance of building smart cities in Bahrain, and the region.
Naseej is the platinum sponsor of the summit.
My Al Arrayedh also discussed adopting new and smart technologies into Naseej’s current and future projects as the company strives to build sustainability into its corporate work as well as the adoption of such principles into its development projects.
Summit organiser Smart Way chief executive Waleed Khalaf said: “We are pleased to partner with Naseej as a platinum sponsor of the sixth edition of Bahrain Smart Cities Summit. The sponsorship reflects Naseej’s interest in strengthening cooperation with all partners in the field of smart cities and exchanging expertise in smart city applications, in order to create new partnerships that advance sustainable cities.”
The summit ends today with talks on food security courtesy of the Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture Ministry, a talk on enabling smart citizens by the Information and eGovernment Authority, and a talk on smart city initiatives in Bahrain and the GCC by the Works Ministry, among others.
nader@gdnmedia.bh
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