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The number of users for the 10 electronic services at Bahrain's Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning reached 10,284 during the first half of the year.

The services can be accessed through both the Ministry's portal and the e-Government portal, said a statement.

Hisham Sater, information technology director at the Ministry, said that the statistics revealed that the Materials Testing Results Services targeted the highest number of users with 7,572 users, after which came the Traffic Diversion Request e-Service with 2,114 users, and then the Material/Product Assessment eService with 284 users.

This came as Shaikh Ahmed patronised the inauguration ceremony held at Moda Mall in the presence of the e-Government Authority Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mohammed Ali Al Qaed and Credit Max CEO Mohammed Malik. The move is in line with the e-government Authority's vision aiming to provide e-services through different channels, as outlined by the Economic Vision for Bahrain, 2030, said Shaikh Ahmed.

The eGovernment Authority of Bahrain (eGA) signed an agreement with Affno, a leading provider of e-Government solutions and Third Wave International, Affno's Middle East partner, to manage and execute the mobile portal in Bahrain.

The agreement was signed by eGA chief executive Mohammed Al Qaed and Third Wave International managing director Stefan Moraes.

He was speaking as he received at Gudaibiya Palace today senior officials, ministers, MPs, Shura Council Members, municipal councillors, clerics, the Intelligentsia, journalists, media persons and citizens. Shura Council and Parliament Chairmen Ali bin Saleh Al Saleh and Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Dhahrani also attended.

Cabinet Affairs Minister and Supreme Committee for Information and Communication Technology member Shaikh Ahmed bin Ateyatala Al Khalifa revealed the news as he launched the 100th e-service during a ceremony at the Gulf Hotel's Gulf Convention Centre.

The multi-purpose electronic card, the first of its kind in the world, is expected to be issued to every individual in Bahrain by the end of next year.

A new set featuring 13 new e-services will be added to www.bahrain.bh next month, bringing the overall number of services to 124.

The update was revealed as Deputy Premier Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa chaired the 27th meeting of the High National Committee for Information and Telecommunications at Gudaibiya Palace. A total of 146,038 transactions worth BD9.8m have also been processed via the portal.

The new service will avoid paperwork, queues and delays, said Interior Ministry's undersecretary for Nationality, Passports and Residence Shaikh Rashid bin Khalifa Al Khalifa.

He was speaking at the launch of the electronic no-objection certificate (NOC) service for visit visas, at a workshop organised by the eGovernment Agency, at the Crowne Plaza's Bahrain Conference Centre.

"Half of these services can be included under the e-government project," said Shaikh Ahmed at the council's weekly session.

The government's BD42 million project to make 167 services available online by 2010, is making good progress and public awareness is growing, said e-Government Agency chief executive Mohammed Al Qaed.

Kingdom of Bahrain, As part of the Kingdom of Bahrain's national strategy to execute comprehensive e-Government programmes, under the patronage of H.E Sheikh Ahmed Bin Ateyat Allah Al Khalifa, Bahrain's Minister of Cabinet Affairs, the eGovernment Authority today announced the launch of a new address for the eGovernment portal www.Bahrain.bh, at a press conference in the presence of senior government officials and a local and regional media representatives.

It follows the introduction of the successful e-service earlier this year enabling the tracking of postal packages.

The Mailbox Renewal e-Service simplifies the process and makes it more convenient for those who wish to renew their mailboxes, while at the same time easing the workload of Bahrain Post staff and enabling better efficiency at post offices.

Passports are being replaced by Smartcards at the e-gates, said assistant under-secretary for nationality, passports and residence Shaikh Ahmed bin Isa Al Khalifa.

They can also check drug prices, entries in the doctors and dentists directory and apply for Health Ministry jobs.

It follows the launch of a new website by the Health Ministry yesterday.

Speaking at the international press gathering at the recent 'Cisco Networkers 2010' event, Batelco chief executive (Bahrain), Gert Rieder reiterated the company's commitment to the ICT industry in the Kingdom.

The agreement defines Batelco's role in providing communications technology for the Kingdom's pioneering e-government initiative.

This is the final phase of a $57m (BD21.8m) investment to deliver automated broadband access to all residences across the country.

Batelco and the government's Central Informatics Organisation (CIO) signed a memorandum of understanding, which defines Batelco's role in providing state-of-the-art communications technology.