Jordan Times
Wednesday, April 7, 2004
ASEZA wins prestigious international award for first e-government structure in Jordan
By Ruba Saqr
AQABA — The Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) won a prestigious
international award last month for its streamlined and electronically enabled
Enterprise Registration and Permitting System (ERPS), an e-government structure
launched for the first time in Jordan to ease investors access into the 375-
square-kilometre zone.
Launched in 2001, ASEZA was decorated early March as the “Silver Winner” of the
Middle East/Africa Region in the Global Excellence in Workflow Awards, granted
to organisations that support “innovative and excelling” solutions for
increasing work flow to meet their strategic business objectives.
The awards ceremony was held in New York during the Association of Image and
Information Management Conference and Expo, with the golden award for the region
being captured by a South African bank.
ASEZA was among four finalists for awards earmarked for the region, beating a
Turkish firm and another South African organisation for the second-place title.
Giant companies were also crowned winners of their regional awards, such as
EMI/Virgin (the international recording company), which won the silver award
devoted for pan-Europe.
With the awards' attention being centred around the different organisations'
workflow implementations — that move beyond corporate boundaries to the support
of customers, suppliers, and trading partners — ASEZA was commended for its
fast-moving e-systems created to support its One-Stop-Shop, a single entree
point for investors wishing to set up business in Aqaba Special Economic Zone (ASEZ).
According to the authority's Chief Commissioner Nader Dahabi, “the
implementation of ASEZA's e-system comes as part of the Kingdom's efforts to put
into practice the concept of electronic government.”
The ERPS, which started functioning in November 2003, allows investors to
acquire their licences and permits online without having to go to different
governmental departments to complete the required paperwork, Saleh Kilani,
director of ASEZA's investor services directorate, said.
“The system connects ASEZA with all relevant government bodies in a paperless
working environment, by this strengthening its internal and external
communication flow,” Kilani told The Jordan Times on Tuesday.
The USAID-funded e-system is also programmed to expedite procedures in a
transparent and time-bound manner. In case governmental departments outside
ASEZA, such as the Civil Defence Department, did not look into the applications
in a maximum time-limit of five days, the system would “automatically deem the
applications approved,” Kilani indicated.
“Once responsible officers here find that the investors' applications are
complete, they certify the final permits and/or licences within two weeks only,”
he said.
Applications that the system certifies include requests for land and work
permits as well as visas and residency permits “all in one location,” Kilani
added.
Deputy Chief Commissioner Imad Fakhoury, also commissioner for investment and
economic development at ASEZA, said the EPRS has been effective in turning the
zone's One-Stop-Shop into a success story for all of Jordan, emphasising the
fact that ASEZ was created as a model experience to be one of the country's most
important economic development drivers.