Dubai has commenced plans to develop a new vehicle management system based on blockchain technology by 2020. The country’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) made announced that the new vehicle management system would record the history of vehicles throughout its lifespan.
The blockchain based car management system will show an immutable record of where each vehicle is at any point of its life cycle and provide customers with vehicle history from “the manufacturer all the way to the scrap yard.”
The chairman and executive director of the RTA, Mattar Al Tayer spoke on the extent of the new vehicle management system. These were his words:
[perfectpullquote align=”left” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The platform benefits many stakeholders including car manufacturers, dealers, regulators, insurance companies, buyers, sellers and even garages, providing transparency and trust in vehicle transactions, preventing disputes and lowering the cost of services. It tracks ownership, sale, and accident history to create smart, more efficient systems for supply chains.[/perfectpullquote]
Local news media Arabian Business reported on Tuesday, Feb 27 that the blockchain project would be carried out as part of Dubai 10x initiative and would start with vehicles in Dubai and then extend to cars within the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
According to the report, IBM will serve as strategic formulation consultant for the project while future partners include Dubai Customs, Dubai Police, the Dubai Department of Economic Development, the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology, Emirates ID, and the Ministry of Interior all of which are listed as Dubai 10X “disruptors”.
Launched on 14th Feb. 2017 at the 5th World Government Summit, the Dubai 10x initiative seeks to keep Dubai 10 years ahead of other World cities in terms of technology. The mission is to “embrace disruptive innovation as a fundamental mantra of their operations and to seek ways to incorporate its methodologies in all aspects of their work.”
While vehicle lifecycle management system would be a world’s first, Dubai has a more ambitious target to become the world’s first blockchain government by 2020. Countries like Estonia and Singapore have also revealed similar ambitions. Dubai’s interest goes beyond digital ledger as the government has shown interests in cryptocurrency hinting at a state-owned crypto emCash last year. Just like in other countries, officials have warned about the risks associated with cryptocurrencies.
Solomon Sunny is the market reporter for Smartereum, one of the global leaders in Ethereum, blockchain and currency news. He produces technical price updates on digital currencies and writes recent developments about blockchain.
