News

Qatar plans to deploy more kiosks for e-government services

September 11, 2012

Qatar, one of the world's wealthiest countries, announced plans to deploy 100 self-service kiosks that can access the e-government portal Hukoomi, according to an article in Gulf Times. The deployment is expected to be completed by 2015, with at least half of all major government agencies adopting the streamlined resources. 

The Hukoomi system allows citizens and residents to complete transactions such as applying for passports and identification cards, obtaining exit and travel visas, paying utility bills and traffic tickets, and even accessing health services. 

"This allows people to bypass paperwork and long waits at government offices and saves everyone time, energy, and other resources," said ictQATAR, Qatar's independent telecommunications regulator and the government's technology advocate, in its annual report.

The Qatari government said the Hukoomi portal has seen exponential growth since its launch in 2008, handling more than 2.5 million transactions in 2011.

"This usage is expected to keep soaring, as the government plans to add 20 new e-services a year, for a total of 160 services by 2015," ictQATAR said in the article. 

Read more about government use of kiosks.