An agreement has been signed between the eGovernment Authority and contact centre solutions provider Merchants to establish the new company, Silah Gulf.

The company will provide a full range of integrated contact centre solutions on a local and regional level.

The partnership will also pave way towards launching the National Contact Centre, the fourth and final integrated government eService delivery channel, having previously launched the eGovernment National Portal (Bahrain.bh), Mobile Gateway, and Common Service Centres.

The centre will be managed by Silah Gulf, as per the agreement which was signed by Cabinet Affairs minister Shaikh Ahmed bin Ateyatala Al Khalifa and Merchants managing director Adam Foster at the Gulf Hotel Convention Centre.

Shaikh Ahmed revealed at the signing ceremony that this initiative is designed to attract direct foreign investments and providing job opportunities.

'The new centre is expected to create more than 200 jobs for Bahraini nationals in the initial phase and is expected to increase over the next three years,' he said.

The establishment of Silah Gulf came in line with Bahrain Vision 2030, which aims to make Bahrain a unique hub for foreign investments in the Middle East.

'Today's announcement is an embodiment of Vision 2030's goals and transforming Bahrain into a regional leader in the area of support services such as call centres,' he said.

A combined workforce comprised of eGovernment Authority and Merchants employees is working on setting up the necessary logistical processes in the centre to ensure its readiness.

The process is expected to be completed in four months, with plans to officially being operation early 2010.-TradeArabia News Service