The Kingdom’s continued ICT advancements play a major role in enhancing sustainability, economic viability and citizen well-being. As a result, Bahrain is moving closer to developing smart cities, areas built using advanced digital and engineering technologies to improve the economic and social conditions of residents.
Bahrain remains committed to developing its national talent pool and equipping citizens with the skills and knowledge needed to adopt emerging technologies. This important objective is achieved through development programmes provided by universities and funded by Tamkeen.
The Kingdom also pays close attention to the needs of early-stage businesses and startups within the sector, in particular, improving access to venture capital funding. Bahrain Development Bank (BDB) supports this process through a range of funding programmes.
A major development was the establishment of the Al Waha Fund of Funds in 2018 to address the nascent Venture Capital community in the MENA region. The government-led initiative seeks to invest in Venture Capital funds that will invest directly – or that have a strategic interest in – the MENA region.
In accordance with the New Urban Agenda issued by the UN HABITAT, Bahrain has initiated the movement towards smart cities whereby the urban areas in Bahrain can become more efficient, livable, and sustainable in both the short and long term with the active participation from public administration, citizens and businesses. Bahrain’s smart cities movement works as an accelerator for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 11 about sustainable cities and communities.
The Kingdom’s National Real Estate Plan 2021-2024 encourages developing smart and environmentally friendly real estate projects. There is ongoing dialog in Bahrain on topics of smart and sustainable cities among public sector, private sector, technology providers and NGOs to implement Smart Real Estate concept in real estate projects. Bahrain Smart Cities Summit organizes a series of online panel discussion to focus on this issue.
Smart traffic lights or Intelligent traffic lights are used around the kingdom a vehicle traffic control system that combines traditional traffic lights with an array of sensors and artificial intelligence to intelligently route vehicle and pedestrian traffic.
Bahrain is using smarter ways to tackle the high demand for cooling in the county’s hot climate. Newly developed areas in Bahrain such as Diyar Al Muharraq is using Direct Cooling systems to provide cooling to buildings which resulted in more than 30% reduction in electricity consumption. The Direct Cooling system provides cold water to buildings to help reduce the use of conventional air conditioning systems leading to a reduced electricity demand and lower impact on the environment.
New Bank accounts can be opened easily online via mobile apps without having to set foot inside a bank physical branch. Personal identity and information can be captured virtually and verified seamlessly in accordance with the kingdom’s financial regulations and policies. All private information is protected by law.
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Content Last Updated: 03 Sep, 2023
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