24 Gulf Daily News Wednesday, 10th December 2014 Nominations open for eGovernment awards MANAMA: Nominations have opened for the eighth eGovernment Excellence Award 2015 and can be filed until January 25 next year, the organising committee has announced. This year’s awards programme rewards excellence in three sectors – Government, Multi-Sector and Individuals. Four categories of awards will be given under the Government sector: Best eContent, Best eService, Best eProject and eParticipation. The Multi-Sector has four categories: Best Application for Smart Devices, eEntrepreneur, eEconomy and eNGO, whereas the Individuals sector has two categories: Best eConcept and eCitizen. The winners will be announced during the official opening of Bahrain International eGovernment based on a citizen’s effecBusiness Forum 2015. tive participation by the highThe forum will be held est number and volume of from March 9 to 12. transactions conducted on the Deputy Prime Minister eGovernment portal during and Supreme Committee the last year. for Information and The awards aim to enhance Communication Technology the kingdom’s image as a chairman Shaikh Mohammed major destination that boosts bin Mubarak Al Khalifa will initiatives in the field of inforhonour the winners at the mation and communications forum. technology (ICT). n Shaikh The eGovernment It will also highlight the Mohammed Authority (eGA) has reactiremarkable innovations that vated the website www.egovaward.bh contribute to raising global competifor all who wish to nominate their pro- tiveness through the development of jects, said a statement. innovative ICT solutions and strengthThe website will help identify the ening its infrastructure in line with the categories, along with the necessary eGA strategy. information about the submission pro“Due to the growth of the sector, we cess. SIRE Advert GDN Quarter Page 12.7x18cm have expected a high-level of competi09 December 2014 The eCitizen selection will be decided tion this year due to the number of pro- jects participated in previous award,” eGA director of business systems and information technology Dr Khalid Al Mutawa said. “The eGovernment Excellence Award plays a vital role in opening doors for entrepreneurs in the field of technology, which is aligned with eGA programme,” said Dr Al Mutawa. As part of the award preparations, the organising committee has organised workshops in order to provide an overview of the standards required to make the participants eligible to enter the competition. The participants will later benefit from the feedback given by the committee to develop their future projects, especially since the jury includes local as well as international experts. 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VI79 View our listing in the classified section of the GULF DAILY NEWS ALMADINA ALSHAMALIYA FO RS AL E RIFFA FO RS AL E DURRAT AL BAHRAIN FO RR EN T Brand new apartments with a sea view and a built up area of 117-235 sq.m. starting from BD44,800-84,500/- Brand new semi-furnished 4 bedroom villa, 5 bathrooms, and a parking space for 4 cars for BD 470,000/- Ref. VI75 Semi-furnished 4 bedroom villa, 6 bathrooms, 2 living rooms, and 2 kitchens for BD1,400/- Ref. VI83 Contact us for FREE Find-a-Property Services T: +973 1729 8210 E: [email protected] MANAMA: Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo (YBA Kanoo) has appointed Apex Properties as its property management agent for the Kanoo Tower. The two have entered into an agreement for the management of the 24-storey commercial tower. The property management service package that Apex will provide includes setting up the management system, operations, staff training, security, cleaning, landscaping, and facility maintenance. YBA Kanoo director of corporate communications Nabeel Kanoo said the Kanoo Tower, which is in a prime location in Manama, is expected to be a landmark for the business community. “Through the deal the group is forging a new business relationship with Apex Properties, he added. New Scotland Yard HQ sold to UAE firm LONDON: London’s police sold their New Scotland Yard headquarters for £370 million pounds ($578.90m) yesterday to an Abu Dhabi investment firm, the latest part of the British capital to be snapped up by foreign investors. The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) said in September that it would put its New Scotland Yard headquarters, famed for its revolving triangular sign, on the market, listing the site with a guide price of £250m. The move is part of wider cost-saving measures at Britain’s largest police force, which is relocating to a smaller site. Abu Dhabi Financial Group paid £120m above the listed price. The central London location is to be turned into a development including luxury apartments in what the firm said it hoped would become a new London landmark. “The new site will be one of the most important redevelopment projects undertaken in Central London this decade, replacing a world famous headquarters with a world class development,” said group chief executive Jassim Alseddiqi. Foreign investors have poured money into London as a safe haven while other markets like the euro zone have suffered. But they have been criticised for inflating London property costs – house prices have jumped by some 20 per cent over the past year. The 56,000sqm site has been home to the Metropolitan Police Service since 1967 and becomes the latest prime bit of London real estate to spark the interest of foreign investors. In recent weeks, a BrazilianLebanese billionaire has bought one of London’s most famous modern landmarks, the Gherkin office tower, and foreign investors have made a bid for the owner of Canary Wharf, London’s eastern financial district. London’s police authority will use the funds to help balance its budget and invest into equipping officers with body cameras and tablets as well as investing in buildings and computer systems. Developer revives key project DUBAI: Omniyat Group began work on a 48-storey tower in Dubai Maritime City yesterday, the first residential building under construction at the long-delayed project as developers bet the emirate’s renewed property boom is sustainable. Dubai rents had risen for 10 straight quarters before falling one per cent in the third quarter, property consultants CBRE reported in September, and prices are now back up around their 2008 peaks. Work on dozens of building projects has resumed and new developments announced, sparking fears Dubai could repeat the boom-bust cycle that left thousands of investors out of pocket and some facing financial ruin. Developers, however, remain bullish. “I don’t feel there’s oversupply, we will see sustainable growth rather than the large jumps seen in the last two years,” Mahdi Amjad, chief executive of Dubai’s Omniyat Group, said. “You need to focus on the fundamentals and Dubai has demonstrated that its financials are very strong – tourism, trade, the attraction Dubai has globally – Dubai’s real estate market is much more mature than it was before.” His company broke ground on the 225-unit tower in Dubai Maritime City, which the developer valued at 600 million dirhams ($163m) and predicted would be finished in 2017. The City, first announced in 2003 and slated to be completed by 2012, is part of DryDocks World, which restructured $2.2 billion of debt in 2012.