The Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat and the Head of the Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI) Abdel Moneim El-Terras have witnessed the signing of an agreement between AOI and Fiber Misr Systems (FMS) to implement the smart application system for managing the Knowledge City that the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) is establishing in the New Administrative Capital, according to the latest modern systems in the ICT field.
The agreement was signed by the Chairman of AOI Electronics Factory Ahmed Abdel Aziz, and the Chairman of Benya Holding Company Ahmed Mekky, in the presence of FMS CEO Ayman Albayaa, and Siemens Egypt CEO Mostafa El-Bagoury, the Managing Director and CEO of Cisco for North Africa and the Levant Ayman Elgohary, and the Vice President and General Manager for Dell EMS Center of Excellence Magued Mahmoud.
The smart applications system, due to be implemented in the Knowledge City, represents an integrated open platform for program developers to activate all elements of the smart infrastructure. It contributes to providing an environment for distinguished learning; scientific and applied research; and innovation and entrepreneurship in various fields including ICT to support the objectives of the first phase of the Knowledge City, set to be inaugurated within the current year.
The Knowledge City includes Egypt University of Informatics (EUI), Creativa Innovation Hub, an applied research center, the Center of Excellence (CoE) for Universal Design and Assistive Technologies (AT), in addition to the service buildings and the main control building.
In this regard, Talaat stated that the Knowledge City is a pioneering project in building Digital Egypt, as it represents an integrated information society to be established in the New Administrative Capital, which is highly recognized by the leaders of the ICT sector in the region. This recognition has been evident when it was selected unanimously as the Arab Digital Capital for 2021, during the meeting of the Arab Telecommunications and Information Council of Ministers (ATICM) held at the end of 2020. Huge efforts have been employed in the Administrative Capital to achieve digital transformation and stimulate digital innovation and creative thinking in a smart environment.
He also added that the Knowledge City mainly serves MCIT strategy, with the huge projects implemented inside it, including the first university specialized in ICT in the Middle East and Africa, centers for research, development, training and skills refinement and a center for the development of assistive technology to enable PwDs to face challenges, in addition to offices for international and national companies, startups, and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
The ICT Minister also thanked AOI and the partner companies in implementing the project to make the Knowledge City a model to be followed in establishing a smart city according to the latest global technology and to be a mirror reflecting innovation and creative thinking that characterizes the New Administrative Capital.
For his part, El-Terras underscored President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s directives to transfer and implant technology in the field of smart applications and digital systems, which serves Egypt Vision 2030 in achieving the digital transformation.
He stated that the Knowledge City provides many job opportunities for young people of engineers and technicians and offers training on the latest technology in the field of the smart application system. He indicated that the design of the Knowledge City achieves the highest degree of integration by using various smart systems, considering all requirements for cybersecurity for all the project’s elements.
He also added that the AOI aims through this cooperation to develop a national industry that meets the needs of the local market in terms of advanced technology infrastructure for networks and communications to serve development projects and smart cities inside Egypt, in addition to opening export outlets for the Arab region and Africa.
El-Terras also stated that AOI has been authorized to cooperate with MCIT in choosing the best alternatives to implement the smart applications system for managing the Knowledge City. He added that six alliances of global and local companies have applied, and the best financial and technical offer has been chosen through the alliance FMS leads, which includes FMS, Siemens, Cisco, and Dell.
For his part, Mekky, the Chairman and CEO of Benya Group – the owner of FMS – hailed the great role played by MCIT to implement the State’s vision to build new smart cities. He stated that the Knowledge City will become a unique model in the New Administrative Capital for the latest systems of communication networks and technology and their smart applications. Thanks to the advanced future vision, and the alliance with AOI, Siemens, Dell and Cisco, greater success will be achieved.
The parties to the agreement also seconded the excellence of the smart system developed according to the latest modern global systems. It is carried out using applications on mobile devices or through central servers that help to follow up the daily work related to the operation of various building systems, including, for example, water, electricity, environment, and waste management and monitoring; transportation and hall reservations; lighting control and others, which contribute to reducing costs and ensuring effective utilization.
وزارة الاتصالات وتكنولوجيا المعلومات-مصر
