The Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat has visited Minya Governorate to open and inspect a number of projects implemented by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) within the framework of the Decent Life initiative.
The ICT Minister and Governor of Minya Osama El-Qady visited, today, the ICT infrastructure and Fiber to the Home (FTTH) project site in Maasara Village, Mallawi City, Minya Governorate. The project is part of Telecom Egypt’s efforts to enable high-speed Internet access in the rural villages targeted within Decent Life.
Talaat and El-Qady were received by Telecom Egypt CEO and Managing Director Adel Hamed and other executives.
In Maasara Village, the ICT Minister visited one of the families that has access to broadband Internet through fiber optic cables. He discussed with the family members the quality of the service and the benefits they enjoy. They were very satisfied with the quality.
Furthermore, Talaat and El-Qady took a tour of Telecom Egypt’s Training Center in Minya, which serves nearly 1,400 employees in North Upper Egypt, Fayoum, Beni Suef, and Minya.
The Training Center boasts halls, technical labs, computers, and spaces for administration and language skills training, serving employees in different departments of the company. The Center offers 200 specialized training programs for developing the employees’ technical, leadership, administration, language, project management, information systems, and other skills.
The ICT Minister commended the efforts that Telecom Egypt team in Minya has been making to upgrade the ICT infrastructure and accelerate the digital transformation in the Governorate. He called on them to keep up the good work to deliver the highest-quality of telecommunication services to citizens in Minya.
In a similar vein, the ICT Minister and Minya Governor opened two post offices: El Shabab and El Mostaqbal in El Menia El Gadida, and Maasaret Mallawy in Mallawi. The offices were modernized and equipped with state-of-the-art technology systems and solutions to deliver a wide range of financial, postal, and governmental services. Talaat and El-Qady were received by Egypt Post Chairman Sherif Farouk.
MCIT is undertaking several ICT projects to upgrade the information infrastructure and promote digital literacy in the rural villages targeted within Decent Life in different parts of the country.
Phase one of the initiative involves working in parallel in four main areas: implementing FTTH to improve Internet connection for about one million homes, at EGP 5.8 billion; developing 839 post offices and 11 distribution centers and installing ATMs in post offices; improving the quality of telecommunication services by building cellular base stations; and raising digital awareness, building villagers' capacity in IT, and achieving digital economic empowerment.
In his remarks, Talaat underlined that the various ICT and Post projects that MCIT is carrying out in Minya are part of the national plan for supporting Upper Egypt governorates. The projects also reflect MCIT keenness to improve the quality of public services and promote the use of technology nationwide.
Egypt Post is experiencing a paradigm shift, Talaat stated, in terms of office structure and the services provided. Post Offices are transformed into major outlets for postal, financial inclusion, and Digital Egypt services.
For his part, Farouk highlighted that the opening of modernized post offices in Minya is part of Egypt Post’s wide-ranging strategic plan for developing different sectors. The plan kicked off two years ago with the aim of achieving a breakthrough in the quality of services in line with international standards to facilitate citizens’ access to services.
After being developed and supplied with advanced systems and solutions, Post offices have become an ideal destination for obtaining digital government services. People, through post offices, can pay traffic fines; have birth certificates, family records, and marriage, divorce or death certificates issued; have their National ID cards renewed; pay electricity, water, and gas bills; and have access to a wide variety of Egypt Post services, Farouk remarked.
Scattered throughout Minya are 207 post offices, 79 of which are targeted within Decent Life. El Shabab and El Mostaqbal Post Office serves nearly 40,000 citizens. Maasaret Mallawy, however, serves 60,000 and was opened as part of Decent Life projects.
All Post Offices deliver full postal, social, and financial services such as pensions, current accounts, local and international money transfers, mail and parcel services, express mail; electricity, water, and gas bill payment, postal saving services, and landline phone bill payment. The offices are equipped with ATMs and modern surveillance, fire, and anti-theft alarm systems. Post offices in Minya have been supplied with 63 ATMs, available governorate-wide.
It is worth noting that the ICT Minister is visiting Minya to open and inspect several ICT and Post projects as part of the Decent Life initiative. He witnessed, today, the signing of a cooperation protocol on upskilling employees at digital transformation units and government departments.
Moreover, Talaat also witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on achieving institutional development in the Governorate and raising digital awareness in Decent Life’s rural villages. In addition, he met with a group of young people and entrepreneurs at CREATIVA Innovation Hub in Minya.
The ICT Minister is to inspect the training efforts within the capacity building programs offered to Minya citizens. He will also participate in a digital literacy session organized in Maasara Village.
