This will be made possible through the National Smart Card project initiated by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (MoICT)Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (MoICT) with a view to save the time, effort and money now spent on issuing several types of cards, according to Hasan Hourani, who heads the ministry's e-government programme.

"The smart card will be used for all those purposes and others in the future, Hourani told The Jordan Times on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation yesterday signed a $410,000 grant agreement with the United States Trade Development Agency (USTDA) to help speed up the implementation of the project.

According to Hourani, USTDA will float a tender in the US during the next few days to attract a specialised consultant in smart cards to help implement the project, study its feasibility and evaluate it.

The tender for the production and the issuance of the smart card will be floated in early 2009 and issuance is expected to start within 12-18 months after referring the tender to the winning bidder.

The grant will be utilised to provide strategic advice, technical analysis and human resource training related to supporting the government's efforts to introduce a national smart card, according to a Planning Ministry statement.

It will also help the MoICTMoICT in evaluating the proposed national strategy and assist the government in rapidly introducing a smart card framework under a tight timetable, the statement indicated.

During yesterday's signing ceremony, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Suhair Al-Ali expressed Jordan's appreciation to the US government, particularly in light of efforts being exerted by His Majesty King Abdullah to achieve economic and social development in the Kingdom and to improve the standard of living of all citizens.

For his part, US Ambassador Robert Beecroft described the grant as another concrete result of the US commitment and longstanding partnership with Jordan

USTDA started its activities in Jordan in 1996 and total funding to date has reached around $7 million, according to the statement.

Established in 1981 to support US exports, the agency provides funding for feasibility studies and orientation visits that support the economic needs and priorities of countries around the world.

In Jordan, USTDA is most active in the telecommunications, power and transportation sectors, the statement indicated.

By Mohammad Ghazal

© Jordan Times 2008

 

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