MDIA CEO and Economy Minister launch three new blockchain tech projects in public sector

Economy Minister Silvio Schembri and Malta Digital Innovation Authority (MDIA) CEO Kenneth Brincat launched three new public sector projects which make use of blockchain technology during a conference organised by the MDIA.

The first project, spearheaded by the Department of Commerce within the Ministry for the Economy and Industry, will ensure that the digitisation of official documents relating to industrial property rights is registered on protected digital networks.

Minister Schembri said that the second project, which involves the Ministry for Gozo and the MDIA, will digitally label and document Gozitan products during their manufacturing cycle. All information will be digitally certified by being linked to physical labels or stickers carried by the products.

The third and final project will use Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) to strengthen the Planning Authority. This will bolster the documents’ level of security and thus, improve the transparency process.

“Through this public call for the implementation of the proposals announced today, we are seeing a growing awareness of the benefits of these innovative and emerging technologies,” MDIA CEO Kenneth Brincat said.

Minister Schembri also noted that, next week, an international private sector fair involving around 600 companies will be held in Malta. The participating entities range from start-ups and gaming companies to blockchain and artificial intelligence enterprises.