Al-Khobar – BETH

His Royal Highness Prince Saud bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz, Governor of the Eastern Province, inaugurated today (Thursday) the City Operational Picture Center (COP) in Al-Khobar.
The center, affiliated with the Digital Transformation and Smart Cities Agency of the Eastern Province Municipality, was launched in the presence of H.E. Eng. Fahd bin Mohammed Al-Jubeir, Mayor of the Eastern Province, along with a number of officials and municipal leaders.

His Royal Highness emphasized that the strong support of the wise leadership – may God preserve them – in utilizing modern technologies and artificial intelligence to enhance governmental operational systems is a key pillar in achieving the transition toward sustainable smart cities, improving quality of life, and advancing the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.

Prince Saud was briefed on the center’s components and its role in digital transformation projects, describing it as a strategic initiative that applies advanced technologies in city management through an integrated operational system based on AI and the Internet of Things (IoT) to monitor urban performance and analyze data for real-time decision-making.

The center includes several advanced technology projects, notably:

The Smart Cameras Project, enhancing public safety through automated analytics.

The Smart Lighting Project, enabling energy efficiency and automated control.

The Unified Smart Platform, integrating city systems and data to boost operational performance.

Al-Jubeir also presented the international awards achieved by the municipality, including:
🏆 The Gold STEVIE Award 2025 for Best Use of Advanced Technologies in the Government Sector.
🏆 The Gulf Sustainability Award (Silver Level) for Best Use of Artificial Intelligence.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, His Royal Highness received a commemorative shield, while the Mayor affirmed that such continuous support represents a powerful motivation to pursue excellence and innovation in shaping the future of smart cities across the Eastern Province.