23-27 april 2012 ...p r i c e: inr 150 / us$ 15 subscriber’s copy. not for sale your geospatial...

Pric

e:IN

R 1

50

/ U

S$

15

S

ubsc

riber

’s c

opy.

Not

for

Sal

e

YOUR GEOSPATIAL INDUSTRY MAGAZINE

R.N

R.N

.I N

.I N

o -

UP

EN

G/

20

10

/3

41

53

o

- U

PE

NG

/2

01

0/

34

15

3

Re

gis

tra

tio

n n

o:

UP

/G

BD

-13

6/

20

11

-13

Re

gis

tra

tio

n n

o:

UP

/G

BD

-13

6/

20

11

-13

www.geospatialworld.net

SEPTEMBER 2011 VOL 02 ISSUE 02

23-27 APRIL 2012AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS

www.geospatialworldforum.org

Pg. 46- 47

No matter what challenges you face. No matter what opportunities await you. Trimble is dedicated to helping you establish and secure a pathway to your continued success.

Whether your version of success meansfewer hours in the field or finding new market opportunity, the answer lies incomplete positioning solutions that youcan trust.

Get the most from every day and every challenge. Total solutions give you thefreedom to Collect, Share & Deliver withworkflows that make the most sense foryour business.

Still looking for your next big success? Search no further: www.trimble.com

© 2011, Trimble Navigation Limited. All rights reserved. Trimble and the Globe & Triangle logo is a trademark of Trimble Navigation Limited, registered in the United States and in other countries. Access is a trademark of Trimble Navigation Limited. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. SUR-190-GISDEV

COLLECT SHARE DELIVER

How do you measure success?

SUCCESS FOUND HERE

Find Your Success atTrimble booths in

Asian Geospatial Forum 2011SmartKorea 2011

Geospatial World I Septembr 2011

Geospatial WorldGeospatial Media and Communications Pvt. Ltd.(formerly GIS Development Pvt. Ltd.)A - 145, Sector - 63, Noida, India Tel + 91-120-4612500 Fax +91-120-4612555 / 666

DISCLAIMERGeospatial World does not necessarily subscribe to the viewsexpressed in the publication. All views expressed in this issue arethose of the contributors. Geospatial World is not responsible for anyloss to anyone due to the information provided.

OWNER, PUBLISHER & PRINTER Sanjay Kumar PRINTED ATM. P. Printers B - 220, Phase-II, Noida - 201 301, Gautam Budh Nagar(UP) INDIA PUBLICATION ADDRESS A - 92, Sector - 52, GautamBudh Nagar, Noida, India

Inside...

PRICE: INR 150/US$ 15

CHAIRMAN M P Narayanan

PUBLISHER Sanjay Kumar

PUBLICATIONS TEAMManaging Editor Prof. Arup DasguptaEditor - Europe Prof. Ian DowmanEditor - Latin America (Honorary) Tania Maria SausenSr. Associate Editor (Honorary) Dr. Hrishikesh SamantExecutive Editor Bhanu RekhaProduct Manager Shivani LalAssistant Editors Deepali Roy, Aditi Bhan, Vaibhav AroraSub-Editor Anand Kashyap

DESIGN TEAMSr. Creative Designer Deepak Kumar Graphic Designer Manoj Kumar Singh

CIRCULATION TEAMCirculation Manager Vijay Kumar Singh

07 Editorial 08 News

ARTICLES

United Arab Emirates: Highway to sustainability

Vaibhav Arora, Assistant Editor, Geospatial World

State of Qatar: Making its mark

Aditya Chopra, Manager - Business Development (Middle East & Europe)

Kuwait: March to maturity

Kingdom of Bahrain: Mainstreaming g-technology

Sultanate of Oman: Towards geo-enabled future

CONFERENCE REPORT

Latin America Geospatial Forum 2011

MIDDLE EAST

Expanding

Geospatial Footprint

26

18

32

36

42

52

5

Advisory Board

Abbas Rajabifard President,GSDI Association

Jack DangermondPresident, Esri

Shailesh Nayak SecretaryMinistry of Earth SciencesGovernment of India

Mark ReichardtPresident and CEOOpen Geospatial Consortium, Inc.

Aida Opoku Mensah Director - ICT DivisionUN Economic Commission for Africa

Josef StroblDirector, Centre for Geoinformatics,University of Salzburg, Austria

Vanessa Lawrence CBDirector General and CEO,Ordnance Survey, UK

Matthew M O'ConnellPresident and CEO GeoEye

Bryn FosburghVice PresidentExecutive Committee Member, Trimble

Juergen DoldPresident, Hexagon Geosystems

Preetha PulusaniChairman and CEO DeepTarget Inc.

Derek Clarke Chief Director-Survey and Mapping & National Geospatial InformationDepartment of Rural Development & Land Reform, South Africa

Kamal K SinghChairman and CEORolta Group

GIS

Go to www.iFlyUltraCam.com to learn more.

UltraCam Eagle. Covering ground like never before.

UltraCam Eagle

s we look at the implementation of SDIs in the Middle East, one is struck by the commitmentacross the length and breadth of the governments. The hunger for geospatial solutions wasthe result of the need for rapid development of infrastructure and utilities. Without a local

geospatial industrial base, individual government departments made their own applications for in-house use. At some point of time the leap was made from these infrastructure and utilities projects to economic planning, e-governance and diversification into other areas of commerce. Itwas this jump that accelerated the move towards SDI.

Some common factors stand out. First is the strong patron-age by the highest authorities of the effort put in by the engi-neers and scientists. Such support is crucial. The second isthe lack of the baggage of legacy systems which has enabledthe countries to adopt the latest technologies and apply themto infrastructure and utilities applications. The transitionfrom these applications to all other areas of application wasthe next logical step. Legacy systems include people who areused to doing things in a particular way and fear change.They include data on paper designed in a manner to enableeasy and efficient storage and retrieval. Conversion of suchdata to digital form and organising their storage and retrievalwhich make the best use of modern digital technology posesenormous problems. SDI also enables transparency which istroublesome for a section of old style administrators whowould like to control information to wield power.

Access rules seem to be a sticking point even in forwardlooking governments. Thus while data is accessible to government functionaries, access to the public is anotherstory. Administrators need to view information as an enablerat all levels of operation from governance to public use. Wealso see issues relating to data acquisition because different applications have their own data collection frequencies.

The other notable feature of the SDIs is the way they are integrated into other systems. SDIs are being used for developing plans for economic diversification, as well as for planning and management in environment, governance, infrastructure and utilities sectors. This is one of thefactors for success. SDIs cannot exist in isolation but need to have the sustenance of being used in the brick and mortar world for design, engineering, maintenance and operations. SDIs mustdeliver that vital commodity to the real world - information.

I have observed this before and I need to repeat that observation again that SDIs seem to succeedin small countries and countries which do not have the crippling baggage of legacy systems. Is there a lesson here? Should large countries subdivide their SDI effort? Should we discard thebaggage of legacy and recreate data? Something to ponder on.

EditorSpeak

7Geospatial World I September 2011

Middle East's commitment to SDI

A

Prof. Arup Dasgupta

Managing [email protected]

Online GIS for water

management

Jharkhand became the first state inIndia to launch an online GIS forwater resource management. Satel-lite imagery, data compilation andprojection of the findings as per geo-graphical map of the state up to theblock-level were carried out byJharkhand Space Application Centre(JSAC). A T Jeyaseelan, Director ofJSAC, said that the satellite informa-tion of water reserve would help theplanners in ascertaining the actualvolume of water available on the sur-face as well as beneath it, up to adepth exceeding 80 metres.

GHANA

Universities demand

GIS

Universities in Ghana urged for GIS inenvironmental planning and explo-ration in the country. In addition, theydemanded establishment of researchlaboratories where geographical datacan be collected and analysed, duringthe 2011 Annual General Meeting ofthe Ghana Geographical Association(GGA) and Ghana Geography TeachersAssociation (GGTA). Alhaji IssahakuSaliah, Upper West Regional Minister,stated that geographers are keyresource persons for every nation that

seeks to unearth and develop its nat-ural resources. He urged universitiesto redirect their energies and strate-gies towards improving teaching andlearning of both physical and humangeography, which would be of greathelp to the country's development.

NIGERIA

Twin success for

NASRDA

Nigerian National Space Researchand Development Agency (NASRDA)successfully launched NigeriaSat-2and NigeriaSat-X earth observationsatellites. The satellites will help thecountry enhance food securitythrough monthly crop monitoring andwill assist in burgeoning urban plan-ning demands. NASRDA head, Dr S.O

Mohammed, said, "NigeriaSat-2 willboost African capabilities for naturalresource management. It will alsoenhance image data available to theDisaster Monitoring Constellation."NASRDA developed these satellitesin association with UK-based satellitecompany SSTL.

NEWS

Geospatial World I September 20118

INDIA

'Asian economies disaster prone'

Emerging economies likeIndia, China, Philippines andIndonesia face the highesteconomic risk from naturaldisasters, according to theNatural Hazards Risk Atlas2011 released by Maplecroft,an analysis and mapping firm.These Asian giants are propor-tionately at greater risk as theylack the capacity to combatthe impact of major disasters.Natural hazards have cost more to the world economy in 2011 than anyother year on record. "The tsunami in Japan, tornadoes in the US, theearthquake and flooding in Australia have all contributed to USD 265 bil-lion for the first six months of the year," the report said.

Tsunami in Japan

QATAR

All buildings to be

geo-tagged

Qatar's Civic Ministry is set toreplace existing number plates onbuildings with metal plates contain-ing electronic chips, within 18months. The electronic chips willdisplay information like the build-ing's location and numbers forwater, electricity and telecom con-nections. The project is designed tohelp service providers such as fire-fighters and ambulance services toreach places quickly and with ease,in case of an emergency. The elec-tronic chips will be linked to a data-base of buildings being created bythe Geographical Information Sys-tems Centre (GISC) of the Ministry ofMunicipality and Urban Planning.

NEPAL

Govt to make maps

accessible

Issuing a directive, the SupremeCourt (SC) of Nepal asked the centralgovernment to set up an institutionto ensure the rights of Nepali citi-zens to observe and study the coun-try´s original map and other histori-cal documents. They have remainedbeyond people´s access for decades.Earlier, in a written clarification tothe Court, government authoritiesadmitted that they have long failed totake control of the country´s originalmap and historical documents andsaid that they are working tirelesslyto obtain such documents. Theyinformed that the original map is atthe Library of Congress of the US.

THAILAND

Esri eyes 50 percent

growth

In 2010, Esri Thailand earned THB1.3 billion (THB: Thai Baht) revenueand the company is expecting aboutTHB 2 billion revenue in 2011, growthof about 50 per cent, according toKrairop Luanguthai, General Manag-er of Esri Thailand.

Luanguthai said the company isfocusing on two main areas, GISsolutions and Garmin GPS devices,providing hardware and infrastruc-ture to businesses and other cus-tomers. He revealed that the firmhad distributed about 100,000Garmin units of the total annualmarket of 150,000 such devices. Thisyear, it will expand its customer baseto older and retired people.

MALAYSIA

Social issue database

gets g-tagged

The Social Issue Database System,developed by the Social Institute ofMalaysia, incorporated geographicalinformation on issues like childabuse, domestic violence and poverty, announced Women, Familyand Community Development Minis-ter Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.The information source will be government agencies, police, non-government bodies and aca-demic institutions. "It will also act asa one-stop centre for the compilationof information on social issues," shesaid. The MYR 1.2 million (MYR:Malaysian Ringgit) centralised data-base will be made available for thecommon people by the end of 2011.

Geospatial World I September 2011 9

PHILIPPINES

Auditors expose erring contractors

The National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA)committed at least three grave errors in treat-

ing the PHP 79.9 million (PHP: PhilippinePeso) Active Geodetic Stations (AGS) con-

tract awarded to Philtek Instrumenta-tions Inc., observed Philippine Com-

mission on Audit (CoA) in its 2010 auditreport. After finding these errors, the

CoA proposed that contractors who fail tocomplete government projects on time shouldbe penalised as stipulated in the provisions of

their contracts. The CoA revealed that theNAMRIA had paid the contractor fullamount of the contract despite the overone-year delay in the completion of 16AGS the agency sought to establish.

UKRAINE

New law for

agricultural lands

President Victor Yanukovych signed adraft, Law #8077 'On the State LandCadastre.' According to experts, thenew law will pave way to lift the banon purchases and sales of agricul-tural lands, as its approval was oneof the pre-requisites to lift the ban.In addition, the law provides a legal,economic and organisational frame-work to activities of the State LandCadastre. The State Land Cadastrerepresents a unified state geographicsystem of data on lands located

within Ukraine as well as data onquantitative and qualitative valuationof lands.

FRANCE

EC's stand on GMES

annoys ESA

European Space Agency (ESA) sentletters to its 19 member countriesasking them to protest the EuropeanCommission’s (EC) decision toremove Europe's flagship environ-mental programme, Global Monitor-ing for Environment and Security(GMES), from the Commission's multi-year financial budget. ESA willtake its case to the European Parlia-ment in an effort to find a place inthe commission's seven-year budget

for the multi-billion-dollar GMESprogramme, said ESA's Director ofEarth Observation, Volker Liebig.

TURKEY

First EO satellite

launched

Turkey successfully launched its firstearth observation satellite, RASAT.The satellite was designed and man-ufactured by the Scientific and Tech-nological Research Council of Turkey- Space Technologies Research Insti-tute (TUBITAK-UZAY). RASAT weighs100 KG and has a life span of threeyears. The satellite images providedby RASAT will also be used in urbanand regional planning, forestry, agri-culture and disaster monitoring.

10 Geospatial World I September 2011

'EO market to grow

threefold'

The Asia Pacific earth observation(EO) market earned over USD 70.1million in revenue in 2010 and willreach USD 220.5 million in 2018,according to Frost & Sullivan, abusiness research & consultingfirm. In its report, Asia Pacific Satel-lite-based Earth Observation Mar-ket, the firm stressed that the AsiaPacific remote sensing market ispoised for a growth upswing in thefuture with the expanding partici-pant base, growing technologicalcapabilities and an improved politi-cal environment.

Earth observation satellite capa-bilities have advanced in leaps andbounds in recent years. The enor-mous quantity of high-resolution,multi-spectral, and hyper-spectral

data available in a short span oftime has improved decision-makingfor several commercial and govern-ment users. Policy makers in thisregion are ramping up governmentspending for space and satelliteimagery endeavors.

GIS market to grow

at 14 percent

The GIS market in the Asia Pacific(APAC) region is expected to grow ata CAGR of 14 percent, according toTechNavio, a market research firm.The report, Geographic InformationSystem (GIS) in APAC 2010-2014,also indicated that the market iscurrently being driven by govern-ment and public sector adoption ofthis technology. A TechNavio analystexplained that governments of

developing countries require GIS solutions for infrastructureimprovement and disaster prevention management. In addition, the public sector and government also use this technolo-gy to monitor deforestation, waterbodies and river beds. As a result,the public sector and governmenthave become key end-users drivingthe adoption of GIS solutions in the APAC region.


THE NETHERLANDS

PND needs new

revenue drivers

The demand for personal navigationdevices (PNDs) is declining as trafficand mapping functions becomealmost standard in smartphones.This trend is forcing PND manufac-turers like Garmin Ltd. and TomTomNV to find new revenue drivers to getprofits back on course, observed areport published in The Globe andMail.

Garmin forecasted 25 percent fallin demand in the North AmericanPND market this year and up to 10percent in European market. TomTomanticipated 15-20 percent fall global-ly, with the steepest fall in NorthAmerica.

NORWAY

Directive on RS for

wind power

Det Norske Veritas (DNV), a riskmanagement company, published anew recommended practice docu-ment, DNV-RP-J101 Use of RemoteSensing for Wind Energy Assess-ments. The document provides windpower industry with in-depth knowl-edge about the use of remote sens-ing technology for characterisingwind resources. It addresses the useof Sonic Detection and Ranging(SODAR), and Light Detection andRanging (LiDAR) equipment. "As thesize of wind turbines continues toincrease, both in terms of bladediameter and hub height aboveground, remote sensing is being

increasingly relied on to gain vitalinsight into resource conditions atoperating heights well above tradi-tional meteorological towers. As longas this sensing technology is usedcorrectly, it can provide a cost-effec-tive technique to obtain the requireddata," said Dr. Tony Rogers, PrincipalSpecialist and a remote sensingexpert at DNV.


Advanced tsunami

warning system soon

Australia will soon activate itsadvanced tsunami warning system.The system, to be set up in the reddust of the Pilbara region in WesternAustralia, will monitor earthquakesaround the Indian Ocean. In particu-lar, it will look for signs of under-ground ruptures along the Indone-sian archipelago to the north.According to scientists, AustralianTsunami Warning System (ATWS) is aworld-first system, the first seismicarray designed to enable authoritiesto make accurate predictions ontsunamis. The seismic array is a network of interconnected seismo-graphs that measure and record theforce and duration of earthquakes.They are arranged in a geometricpattern to increase sensitivity toevents underground.

'Human Terrain' maps

for military

Australian military selected 'HumanTerrain' maps, developed by EsriAustralia, for better decision makingduring overseas operations. It dis-plays the human geography of anarea using dozens of different cate-

gories such as ethnicity, religion andlanguage. Esri Australia's managerfor defence, Simon Hill said the tech-nology supports military decisions inpeacekeeping, conflict, humanitarianassistance and disaster relief opera-tions. He added, "Human terrainanalysis is all about determining therelationship between the character-istics of a human population and thatpopulation's location. It provides ageographic context and a timeline tohuman behaviour on the ground."According to Hill, the problem inmodern defence is the availability oftoo much information. Adding a geo-graphic context helps filter the mostrelevant information from the leastrelevant.

NZ Govt urges for

info dissemination

New Zealand's Finance Minister BillEnglish issued a notification callingon all government organisations tomake available all unclassified infor-mation (including geospatial data)that have 'high potential value for re-use'. He added that informationshould be available online free ofcost. "Online access of data hasmany potential benefits. Theseinclude creating business opportuni-ties and new services, increasinggovernment accountability andenhancing policy by encouraginggreater external analysis and com-munity engagement," said English.

Positioning infra to boost economy

Australia will soon set up National Positioning Infrastructure (NPI). Inconversation with LBx Journal, Peter Woodgate, CEO, CooperativeResearch Center for Spatial Information (CRCSI) said, "CRCSI'sresearch will underpin the NPI vision. Economic modelling that wecommissioned suggests that we can add at least USD 32 billion to theAustralian economy over the next 20 years with an NPI." About the NPI,Woodgate stated that it aims to deliver 2-cm accurate positioning any-where outdoors in real time. This can only be accomplished by takingadvantage of the existing GPS system and the new and emerging sys-tems of Galileo (EU), GLONASS (Russia), Compass (China), QZSS (Japan)and IRNSS (India). He observed that Australia is uniquely positioned totake advantage of these constellations from a research and develop-ment perspective.


BUSINESS

SAP forays into

geospatial market

SAP AG, a business intelligencesolutions provider, collaborated withGoogle to enhance its business ana-lytics software with location-baseddata capabilities. It will allow usersto get real-time information viaGoogle Maps. As a result, customerscan analyse their businesses in ageospatial context to effectivelyunderstand the "where" of theirinformation. It will also make thenunderstand global, regional and localtrends and how they are impacted bydifferent scenarios. It will help themto increase efficiency and profitabili-ty, among other benefits. "Today,

more and more information is beinggeo-tagged, and it is unlocking anentirely new dimension for enter-prise data," said Sanjay Poonen,President, Global Solutions, SAP AG.

Apple wins patent

right

The US Patent & Trademark Officeassigned patent right of 'SchematicMaps' to Apple. The patent involvessystems and methods for preparingand presenting schematic maps. Theinventors of these maps are JaronWaldman and Moran Ben-David. TheSchematic Maps first determine theamount of screen real estate that isavailable to the user. Then, it empha-sises certain landmarks which allowusers to quickly take notice of thingsas per the need. Analysing the fiercecompetition between iOS andAndroid and the latest patent acqui-sition, experts believe that Apple may

eventually move away from GoogleMaps and come up with somethingon their own.

GeoEye reiterates

high growth

In a conference call with investors,GeoEye reiterated its forecast of adouble-digit revenue increase for2011 despite slower-than-expectedbusiness from the US governmentcaused by a protracted budgetdebate and the government-imposedperformance metrics. If GeoEye failson performance metrics, the currentUSD 12.5 million monthly paymentfrom NGA to the company can bereduced by up to 10 percent. GeoEyeexpects full-year 2011 revenue to bearound USD 370 million, a 12 percentincrease from 2010. EBITDA ( Earn-ings before interest, taxes, deprecia-tion and amortisation) is expected tobe about 50 percent of revenue.

APPLICATION

Grant for eco-

observatory network

The US validated and jump-startedthe development of National Ecologi-cal Observatory Network (NEON)with a USD 434 million ten-yeargrant by the National Science Foun-dation. The network will consist of 20'core' observatories representingdistinct eco-regions throughout theUS. Once the entire network is upand running, about 15,000 sensorswill work in concert with scientistson the ground to supply roughly 500distinct categories of data rangingfrom basic weather readings to con-centrations of ozone in the air and

3D laser scanning market to double by 2015

The 3D laser scanning mar-ket, including hardware, soft-ware and services, will grow ata compound annual growthrate (CAGR) of 15.4 percent,according to a new ARC Advi-sory Group study. In addition,the report forecasted that themarket will double in size by2015. There are three marketsub-segments based on range(distance) for the laser scan.The segment for short range equipment and software is experiencing bothrapid technological innovation and revenue growth. In the medium rangesub-segment, the hardware is more stable with software providingincreasing value-added business benefits. The long range sub-segmenthas some very interesting application areas, but has relatively expensiveequipment.

Laser Scanning by Leica

nitrogen in the soils, leaves andstreams.

Alliance to address

water risk

To assess and respond to increasingglobal water risk, the WorldResources Institute (WRI) formed theAqueduct Alliance, a consortium ofleading water experts from privateand public sectors, NGOs and acade-mia. The Coca-Cola Company is alsoengaged and will be providing anextensive global database ofonce proprietary water risk infor-mation to support Aqueduct'swork. Aqueduct's action will bebased-on a global database ofwater risk information. It willenable companies, investors,governments and others to cre-ate water risk maps with anunprecedented level of detail andresolution. The maps will com-

bine advanced hydrological data withgeographically-specific indicatorsthat capture the social, economic andgovernance factors that affect com-panies and economies. It will informprivate sector efforts to reduce itswater footprint in high risk areas andcreate an impetus for public sectorleaders to enter into dialogues with arange of stakeholders that will ulti-mately lead to more equitable, efficient and sustainable waterresources management in water-stressed basins.

OTHERS

UN votes for

geospatial committee

The United Nations Economic andSocial Council (ECOSOC) voted toestablish a committee of experts onglobal geospatial information man-agement. The tasks for the commit-tee include coordinating internationaldialogue on spatial data infrastruc-tures and enhancing cooperation inthat field. According to a report of theSecretary-General on global geospa-tial information management, therapid technological advances ingeospatial information have madethis kind of information readily avail-able. The secretary-general proposedthat the UN take the lead role andserve as the coordinating entity of theglobal geospatial information com-munity, hence the decision to createthe committee.

Database for disaster

prediction

Costa Rica-based Regional WaterResources Committee developed adatabase, Google of Central Americanweather. It aims to predict naturaldisasters as the Central Americaregion grapples with devastating con-sequences blamed on climatechange. Norman Avila, TechnicalDirector of the database project, saidthe project will gather informationfrom 150 stations in seven countries.Launched with the support of theInter-American Development Bank,the database will also help the agri-cultural sector. Agriculture is thelargest contributor to Central Ameri-ca's GDP and also the biggest jobcreator in the region.


NASA finds liquid water on Mars

NASA released a 3D mod-el of an image by the MarsReconnaissance Orbiter(MRO). It showed flows ofwater that appear inspring and summer on aslope inside Mars' Newtoncrater. The source obser-vation was made by theHigh Resolution ImagingScience Experiment(HiRISE) camera onNASA's Mars Reconnais-sance Orbiter. The features imaged are only about 0.5 to 5 yards ormeters wide, with lengths up to hundreds of yards. Some aspects of theobservations still puzzle researchers, but flows of liquid brine fit thefeatures' characteristics better than alternate hypotheses.

River runoff throughout the 20th century


HIGHWAY

to sustainability

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Getting back fast on to the development track post economic recession, UAE is

investing in infrastructure, environment and concentrating on diversifying its

economy. Here's a deep down look on what's happening on UAE's geospatial scene

and the prospects for the industry

18

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) - the majestic oasisin the middle of a desert - is a visual treat ofbreathtaking skyscrapers, plush highways criss-

crossing each other and some of the most remarkablearchitectural marvels of the world. But, that is not wherethe story ends. Development activities are in full swingacross and the country plans to take them to the next lev-el. Huge investments have been planned across variousemirates in the next few years. All this gives the geospa-tial industry a mature ground to take off to a point it has-n't reached before.

Although the recent economic slowdown proved to bea dampener for the ambitious plans of various organisa-tions in the UAE, things are slowly but surely getting backon track and geospatial industry is upbeat about theprospects of the increased usage and growth of the tech-nology in the coming years.

The UAE Vision 2021 mandates it to make the countryrank amongst the best countries in the world throughsignificant investments in the fields of infrastructuredevelopment, environment as well as economic diversifi-cation and the geospatial industry is in sync with theefforts presently on to realise that dream. In 2009, theEmirate of Abu Dhabi unveiled its ambitious EconomicVision 2030 that revealed a blueprint for economic diver-sification. It aims to reduce the country's dependency onoil sector and to focus on other knowledge-based indus-tries, giving the industry another reason to cheer. Anoth-er encouraging fact is that apart from Dubai and AbuDhabi, other cities in the country are also doing apprecia-ble work in this domain.

ECONOMY

The United Arab Emirates is a well developed and fast-diversifying economy, characterised by high per capitaGDP of about USD 50,000, one of the highest in the world.The government's constant efforts in achieving greatereconomic diversification have resulted in a substantialreduction in the share of GDP based on oil and gas toalmost 25 percent. There is increased spending on creat-ing more jobs and also more than ever before private sec-tor participation in utilities.

The year 2009 proved to be a chaotic one for worldeconomy and the UAE too felt the impact as its growthrate came down to 7.4 percent as compared to 7.5 per-cent in 2008. The real effect of the economic downturnwas felt in 2010 as the country's real GDP tumbled to -2.7percent. However, helped by the steadily rising prices of

oil and the positive policies implemented by the leader-ship, the recovery has been pretty swift and a substantialrevival is expected by the end of this year. According toIMF estimates, the real GDP growth of the country wouldbe 3.3 in 2011 and 3.8 in 2012.

Cooperation between the emirates was also a majorfactor that sped up the resurgence process tremendous-ly. In November 2009, soon after the Dubai Governmentannounced that it was seeking an extension on debt pay-ments for the Dubai World, the Abu Dhabi Governmentstepped in to offer a USD 5 billion loan to help reduce thedebt and restore the confidence of internationalinvestors.

BUSINESS DRIVERS

Oil and gas sector: The UAE has the sixth largest crudeoil reserves and the seventh largest natural gas reserveson the planet. The export of oil was a major reason thathad kept the country insulated from the effects of globalmeltdown during its early phase. Before the recession setin, the sector had witnessed tremendous growth of 35.6percent in 2008. The sector is deploying latest technologyin abundance. According to a report published by CIA(Central Intelligence Agency), the UAE has about 98 bil-lion barrels of oil, which, at the present rate of produc-tion, will last for more than 90 years.

Sustainable development: Development of renewableenergy is driving the interest of most cities in the country.UAE's Vision 2021 clearly outlines a plan that takes thenation on a path to sustainable development in the futurethat is less reliant on oil. Estidama, which is the Arabicterm for sustainability, is a programme developed by theAbu Dhabi UPC that aims to create a new sustainabilityframework.

Masdar City, on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi, is a prime


Figure 1: UAE real GDP growth in the past decade (Source: CIA). Theprojected figures are as per the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

example of UAE's commitment to sustainable develop-ment. The city is being billed as the world's first zero-car-bon and zero-waste city. Geospatial technology is beingused extensively to ensure that the city achieves its objec-tive of sustainability during planning, construction andfunctional phases.

The Environment Agency, Abu Dhabi has the mandateto support sustainable development. The agency is taskedwith ensuring that any existing or new industry that isbeing developed in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi complieswith certain environmental guidelines.

Adequate government support: Political leadership in theUAE realises the tremendous potential of geospatial tech-nology and is leaving no stone unturned in ensuring itsuse in each department and every vertical to improve theservices and the overall quality of life. This has resulted inmost organisations establishing independent GIS depart-ments. Underlining the importance of GIS division for hisorganisation, Eng. Ali Ahmed Ghafan, Head of Surveying &Engineering Section, Dubai Land Department says, "GISdepartment is a part of the survey section and plays anextremely vital role in the organisation's daily work.Almost every inquiry that comes in must go via GIS to beapproved."

Yousuf Abdulrahman Almarzooqi, Head of SpatialData Division, Municipality of Abu Dhabi City further high-lights the support from the government saying, "We arevery well supported by the government. We have been giv-en complete responsibility and authority to deliver theresults." Users too are buoyant and Eng. Yusuf Petiwala,GIS Project Manager, Federal Electricity and WaterAuthority (FEWA) says, "GIS has helped a lot in the func-tioning of FEWA. Processes that took two to three weeksto complete earlier can now be finished in just three min-utes."

Political stability: Ever since it came into existence in 1971as a result of the unification of the Trucial States, theUnited Arab Emirates has enjoyed near perfect politicalstability. The government's success in maintaining a morethan satisfactory record on human rights together withexcellent infrastructure, high salaries and a high standardof social services has further minimised the possibility ofsocial unrest and promoted political stability. The countryis an active member of numerous world-level associa-tions, which has ensured liberal trade policies and in turn

greater foreign investment in the industrial sector, con-tributing significantly to the economy.

Economic diversification: As the country seeks to limit itsreliance on the oil sector, diversification is the keyword forfuture growth. According to the CIA World Factbook, thecountry has man-aged to bringdown the contri-bution of oil sec-tor to the GDP torange between25-30 percent andaims to furtherbring it down toless than 20 per-cent in the nextfew years by pro-moting industrial-isation. Some ofthe factors that have so far and will positively contribute tofurther industrialisation in UAE include mineralresources, easy availability of capital, top-class infra-structure, a liberal labour policy and numerous free tradezones.

Market mmaturity: Buoyed with government support, vari-ous departments are using the technology to improvetheir functionality and efficiency. Highlighting the fact,John Sasser, President, Rolta Middle East says, "Themarket is fairly mature in the UAE. Governments are cen-trally funded and have made significant investments ingeospatial technology. The level of technology invested inby the agencies here is at par or more advanced thanwhat one might find in many American or European localagencies."

POTENTIAL VERTICALS

The use of geospatial technology in UAE is spread acrossvarious verticals including environment, oil and gas, con-struction, municipalities, utilities, transport and landmanagement. Predicting the most potential verticals,John Sasser says, "The use of the technology will be uni-versal. There will be some verticals that will rely more onit than others like municipalities or the ministries oftransportation. So, geospatial technology will be used intraditional verticals like utilities, military, security, envi-


Figure 2: Contribution of various sectors toUAE GDP

ronmental agencies and land management. These agen-cies are the once that will continue to be heavily in need ofa geospatial context to their data."

Figure 3 shows the results of a survey conducted byGeospatial World in which the respondents (consisting ofsoftware providers, data providers and other GIS compa-nies) were asked to rate the important verticals on thebasis of their GIS potential (on a scale of 10)

Construction and infrastructure: In spite of the recenteconomic slowdown that hit the construction sector in thecountry, construction remains one area that is a majordriver for geospatial industry. A recent report by BusinessMonitor International projected the infrastructure sectorin the country to touch AED 80 billion (USD 21.62 billion)by 2010.

Abu Dhabi's Surface Transport Master Plan, which is apart of the city's Vision 2030, aims to build one of the mostcomprehensive public transit systems in the world withan investment of over AED 300 billion (USD 81.1 billion) inthe next 20 years. A majority of infrastructure projectscurrently underway have heavy geospatial component andhave allocated separate budgets for the implementationof the technology. Table 1 lists the major infrastructureprojects in UAE that are utilising geospatial technology.

Municipalities and town planning: Urban planning is infocus yet again and city developers have been successfulin addressing major areas of concern like traffic jams,housing shortage and the provision of better infrastruc-ture by using geospatial technology. Long term plans havebeen drawn to improve the overall quality of life. Geospatial technology is acting as a backbone for thefunctioning of organisations like Abu Dhabi Municipality,Dubai Municipality, Al Ain Municipality, Urban PlanningCouncil (Abu Dhabi) and the Directorate of Town Planning

& Survey (Sharjah). Tables 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 provide detailsof all the current projects in various phases of implemen-tation in these municipalities.


Figure 3: Potential verticals in UAE (Source: Geospatial World)

Table 1: List of major infrastructure projects

Name of theProject

Mandate of theProject

Cost of theproject

Status of theProject

Masdar City, Abu Dhabi

To build the world's firstzero-carbon, renewableenergy powered city

USD 19-20 billion

Constructionbegan in 2008,entire project to be completedby 2025

SowwahIsland, AbuDhabi

To offer ample space foran estimated tripling ofthe population of thecapital in the next twodecades

N.A. First phase ofthe projectcomplete

Dubai Metro To offer a driver less, fully automated meansof public transport

AED 28 billion (USD7.57 billion)

Constructionbegan in 2006.First two lines inoperation

Mafraq-GhuweifatHighway

To widen and improvethe expressway linkingthe capital with the Saudi border

AED 10 bil-lion (USD 2.7billion)

Project execut-ed in 2009

Al MaktoumInternationalAirport,Dubai

To build the world'slargest passenger andcargo hub

AED 30.11billion (USD8.14 billion)

Started operations in2010, fullyoperational by2017

Table 2: Pojects being undertaken by Abu Dhabi Municipality

Name of the Project Mandate of the ProjectStatus of theProject

Assessment of SeismicHazard and Risk in Emirate of Abu Dhabi

To monitor earth quake risk andenhance the building code

Implementationphase in coordi-nation with relevant localauthorities

3D City Modelling Project

To establish a 3D city model with all levels of details enabling visualisation, navigation, analysisand simulation through existingand planned infrastructure

Project is in thecoordinationphase of implementation

Geotechnical DatabaseProject

To establish geotechnical database for planning and construction activities

To be completedby the end of2011

Mapping of UndergroundStorm Water, IrrigationAnd Traffic Signal Networks

To map underground stormwater, irrigation and traffic signalnetworks to achieve commonstandards of utility information

Started in 2009,project is in the implementationphase

GIS Enabled MobileInspection ManagementSystem

To automate the municipalinspection process with optimalefficiency

To be completedin 2011

Plot Survey To get each plot precisely identified, surveyed and borderprotocol signed

Project is in theimplementationphase

Harmonise Registers forPlots, Addresses andBuildings

To fully harmonise the content ofregisters for plots, addresses and buildings, linking these regis-ters with census and commerciallicense data along with establish-ing the routines for updating

Project is in theimplementationphase


Utilities: A lot of emphasis is being laid on improving var-ious utilities such as water, electricity and telecommuni-cations to enhance the quality of citizens' life. Utilityorganisations are amongst the most prolific users ofgeospatial technology and have embedded it in theireveryday functioning to improve the overall quality of theirservices. Faced with the acute shortage of supply andrapidly increasing demand of basic necessities like waterand electricity, the government in 2009 signed a contractworth AED 75 billion (USD 20 billion) with a consortium ofKorean companies to construct a series of nuclear powerplants by 2020 and provide a source of alternate energy.Tables 7 and 8 provide information about various ongoingprojects in utilities segment.

Land management: Land management is one of the mostpotential verticals for the use of GIS with urban planners,city authorities and cadastral agencies requiring detailedinformation related to the distribution of land andresources in their bid for better planning and manage-ment. The surveying and engineering section at the DubaiLand Department is in the process of automating most of

22

Table 3: Projects being undertaken by Dubai Municipality

Name of the Project Mandate of the Project Status of the Project

Amakin Mobile Ser-vice Project

To provide a simple viewerthrough which the user canhave access to maps and infor-mation on a mobile device

In use by a couple ofdepartments.Version 2 to befinalised later this year

Basemap Project To provide important and updat-ed information to the partnerentities and continue to providedata sharing devices

Ongoing

Thermal MappingProject

Done in partnership with environment dept. The aim is tooffer an application tool toshare the thermal information

Started in 2010

Table 4: Projects being undertaken by Al Ain Municipality


Enhancement andAutomatic Determi-nation of OrthometricHeight

To enhance the orthometricheights in the eastern region ofAbu Dhabi Emirate and to pro-vide an interactive model whichcan be interconnected with GPSinstrument to automatically derivethe orthometric heights.

To be completed byend of 2011

Real Time SpatialData Updating System

To update the current base mapof the region and to develop andimplement a real time system forupdating spatial data


GeographicInformation SystemData Exchange

Enhance the quality and thecapabilities of GIS dataexchange by applying a GIS roadmap


Table 5: Projects under Urban Planning Council, Abu Dhabi

Name of theProject


Percentage ofGeospatialComponent


Geoplanner To provide the planners withcomprehensive informationregarding plots, roads etc.

95% Ongoing

MosquesDevelop-ment Sup-port System

Project being carried outalong with DMA. Aim is toassist in planning effort, finding location, details ofexisting projects. Also helpspeople in donating online

75% Ongoing

Researchon RealEstatedemand

To assess the supply anddemand of real estate.Assess the gap betweensupply and demand

70% Ongoing

Table 6: Projects in Directorate of Town Planning & Survey, Sharjah

Name of theProject


Cost of theProject


CAD GIS integrationproject

Update the CAD users toGIS users. Project awardedto Bentley

AED 8 million

Phase 1 complete.Phase 2 in progress

Team SurveyTo do a comprehensive sur-vey in order to cleanse datafrom the past

AED 5 million

Phase 1 for middleSharjah area is com-plete. Phase 2 inprogress. Planning onfor Phase 3 to coverthe east coast

New Aerial Survey

To complete an aerial surveyfor the entire Sharjah emirateas well as field survey forsome specific areas

N.A.Evaluation of the proposals on

Table 8: Projects in Sharjah Electricity & Water Authority


3GIS Implementation

To implement the technology inwater and electricity management

Evaluation stagecurrently on

Street NetworkUpdation

Enterprise Solutionsfor GIS

TO build an enterprise system forGIS

Completed in 2007

Issuing of no objection certificate

NOC application designed toissue no-objection certificates

Ongoing

Table 7: Projects in Federal Electricity & Water Authority (FEWA)

Name of theProject



GIS Implementa-tion Project

To implement GIS in FEWAacross all the regions it covers,Northern Emirates includingAjman, UAQ, Ras al Khaimah,Fujairah & Central Region

Ongoing. Started in2004. Deadline is April2012. Took two andhalf years to finishAjman. Fujairah, Umm alQuwain and Ras alKhaimah already done

SCADA Project

To upgrade the SCADA system.Earlier, FEWA had legacy sys-tem from ABB but is nowupgrading into a new systemfrom OSI (US Company). It willbe integrated with GIS for DMSApplication.

Ongoing

SAPImplementa-tion Project

To implement ERP billing andCRM. GIS is a key source ofdata for the migration process

Ongoing


their functions for easy accessibility and quick functioningof all their processes. Table 9 lists out the ongoing proj-ects in Land Department, Dubai.

Defence: Since its inception in 1974, the Military SurveyDepartment, which is a part of the Ministry of Defence,has been acting as a technical support unit for the UAEArmed Forces by providing maps and topographic infor-mation.

The department started moving to digital maps in the1990's, which paved the way for developing applicationsusing the most modern systems and software. The revo-lutionary change initiated the process of producing nec-essary spatial infrastructure required for the implemen-tation of geographic information systems.

The progress made by the Military Survey Departmentduring the past few years can be compared with any of thebest surveying organisations across the world. The UAE isone of the most prolific investors in the defence sectorwith almost forty-five percent of its annual budget allocat-ed for defence spending.

Heightened security concerns due to the ongoingpolitical unrest in the Arab world as well as Iran's nuclearambitions have led to a further increase in arms dealsduring the past few months. Defence deals worth USD 1.1billion were awarded to local and international companiesduring the start of this year and industry experts expectmore similar deals in the near future.

Environment: Considering its arid environment, conser-vation of the environment is perhaps one of the most dif-

ficult tasks the country is faced with. However, the gov-ernment has accepted the task as a challenge and effortsare on to strike a balance between development and envi-ronment protection.

The Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, which is respon-sible for almost four-fifths of the country's total land area,has been extensively using geospatial technology sincethe mid-90s and is working closely with the authorities tomake sure that the region successfully accomplishes itsgoals as outlined in its 2030 Plan. The Al Gharbia 2030plan, which is a part of the Abu Dhabi vision, proposes toconvert several thousand kilometres of desert into naturereserves. Any future development in the area will be mon-itored strictly.

Transportation: The GIS section in the Roads and Trans-port Authority, Dubai, was established in 2009 and has themandate to improve the overall quality of its services byproviding up-to-date spatial information leading to inte-grated GIS solutions which enhance decision making. GIShas been a vital cog in the state-of-the-art facilitiesoffered by Roads and Transport Authority, be it the fleet ofGPS equipped buses and taxis or the driver less DubaiMetro. Table 11 lists out the ongoing geospatial projects in

Table 9: Projects in Land Department, Dubai

Name oftheProject


Percentage ofGeospatialComponent inthe Project

Status oftheProject

E-valuationproject

The project has two parts.First where a person can payminimal fees and value anyland or building. Second is amore specialised part wherea person can query for manyother things

65% Evalua-tion of propos-als cur-rently on

Data Clean-ing Project

To clean the data andremove duplication

90% Ongoing

BasemapProject

Being done along with DubaiMunicipality. Objective is toidentify land data and shareit with other agenciesaccording to their specificrequirements

90% Ongoing

Table 10: Projects under Environment Agency, Abu Dhabi

Name of theProject



Environment BaselineData Project

To develop EnvironmentalData Model and collectrelevant baseline environ-mental data not collectedas part of the agency’sroutine operation

Data Model phasecomplete. Data Collection phase tobegin soon

Soil Survey Project N.A. Completed in 2010

The UAE Vision 2021 mandates it tomake the country rank amongst the bestcountries in the world thhrough significantinvestments in the fields of infrastructuredevelopment, environment as well aseconomic diversification and thegeospatial industry is in sync with theefforts presently on to reallise that dream

Roads and Transport Authority, Dubai. The Middle East region is projected to invest close to

USD 80 billion in building new transport infrastructureover the next 10 years and a bulk of the investment will bemade by cities like Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

WAY AHEAD

Regional cooperation: Although there is tremendouspotential for the utilisation of geospatial technology in theMiddle East, regional cooperation is still an issue thatneeds to be addressed, feel industry players. The regionstill has a long way to go when it comes to cooperation atthe regional level, particularly in some of the areas suchas environment. It is extremely important to understandthe global and regional perspective to effectively tacklechallenges at the local level.

Data availability: Data is at the core of geospatial deploy-ment and availability and accessibility of data is still achallenge in UAE. The Abu Dhabi Spatial Data Infrastruc-ture (AD-SDI), under the aegis of Abu Dhabi Systems &

Information Centre (ADSIC), has put in great efforts inmaking data easily available to the users.

Naeema Al Zarouni, GIS Manager, Abu Dhabi UrbanPlanning Council says, "Yes there are certain issues indata access. While most of the entities share data on aservice level agreement, there are certain entities that arestill having some issues and cost associated with provid-ing the data."

"A negative aspect of the functioning of ADSIC is thatsometimes we are not allowed to purchase our own dataas the government does not want duplication of datawhich adds to the costs. However, the problem is that forplanning purposes, we need frequently updated data on aregular basis, which is not always available," says arespondent who did not wish to be quoted.

Another problem is the compatibility of data that ismade available. "The data that we are getting is incom-plete most of the time because geospatial technology isstill new for some organisations. It often becomes difficultto find good and clean data. It becomes a difficult task tomap our assets on different data sets, especially when itis changing constantly," says Eng. Yusuf Petiwala.

Capacity building: Another major challenge for the coun-try is the availability of human resources. The availabilityof Arab speaking professionals is limited. Though the sit-uation is improving, the gap is wide to be filled up in thenear future. Highlighting the difficulties faced in upgrad-ing the available resources, Eng. Ghafan says, "The avail-ability of resources is a huge problem. Technology keepschanging rapidly so you have to constantly upgrade yourresources or hire new people or contract with outsideagencies. Doing that has its own share of problems."

TO CONCLUDE

Although the geospatial market in the United Arab Emi-rates is full of potential and is set for a leap onto the nextlevel, the need of the hour is to educate the end usersabout the tremendous benefits associated with using thistechnology. The country is coming out of the effects ofrecession and is on its way to reclaim its position as aneconomic powerhouse. The ambitious plans marked outin the Vision 2021 exhibit the Emirati peoples' desire tomatch step with the world and can be accomplished bydeveloping the right kind of resources.

Vaibhav AroraAssistant Editor, [email protected]

Table 11: Projects in Roads & Transport Authority, Dubai


Enterprise GIS Platform

To create a platform enablingusers to access and manipulateGIS data regardless of its typethrough a customised plug-in toimprove RTA decision making,services and improve systemsintegration and communication

Complete

Enterprise Geospa-tial Data Infrastruc-ture

It aims to develop GIS strategy,GIS standards and a compre-hensive GIS data model

In progress

GIS Developmentand Integration

To provide GIS solutions and toimplement GIS integration withother RTA systems in order toempower GIS benefits andimprove RTA decision making

Planned


Copyright © 2011 Esri. All rights reserved.

&,,&&&&&& ,&&&&

,&&&

,,&&&&&&&&

&,,,,&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

,,&&&&

&,,&&

,,,&&&&&&&&&&&&

,,,,,&&&&&&&&&

,&&

&&,,,&&&&&&&&&&&&

,&& ,&&&&&& &,,,&&&&&&&&

OO,,&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

O&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

O,,&&&&&&&&&&&

O&&&&&&&&&

O

O&&&&&&&&&&&&

O,,&&&&&&&&

OOO,&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&!!!!&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

O,,&&&&!!!!!!,,,,&&&&&&&

OO&&&&&&&&

O&&&&&&&&

OOO,,&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

OO,,,,&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

OOOO,,,,&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

")""

)"")""

)""

)""

)"

)""

)""

)""

"

"

"

")""

)""

)""

)""

")""

)""

)""

)""

)""

)"")""

)""

)""

)""

)""

)""

)""

""" """

)""

"""

)""

"""

)"")""

)""

""""""

)""

)""

"

)""

qqqq,,,,&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

qqq,,&&&&&&&&&&&&O,,&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&!!!!!!,,,,,,,,,,,&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

qqqq,,,,&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& qqqq,,,,&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

qq,&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

qq&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

qq,,&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

qqqq,,,,&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

q,&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

25KKVAVV \C

50KVVAAVV \\CC

25KVAVV \C 25KVAVV \C

VAVV \

25KVAVV \C

25KV

A\C

2225KVAVV \C

25KV "AVV "\C

Empowering the Mobile WorkforceWith Esri® mobile solutions, you can quickly capture, update, and

share geospatial information using custom and ready-to-deploy

mobile applications. Mobile GIS saves time, increases data

accuracy, and makes your fi eld staff more productive.

Learn more at esri.com/geospwldmob

THE GEOSPATIAL BEGINNING…

The State of Qatar has an exciting story to share with theworld. The story of how geospatial technology was intro-duced and how it has blended with the country's rich cul-ture, ethics and work culture to notch up its develop-ment. What was introduced as just another tool hastoday become a lifeline of the nation.

The advent of geospatial technology began in Qatar in1988 when Sheikh Ahmed bin Hamad Al- Thani recog-nised the immense potential of these tools in revolution-ising information management in Qatar. In 1989, theState of Qatar conducted a government-wide user needsassessment to determine which areas of governmentwould benefit most from the implementation of geospa-tial technology. The results of the assessment indicatedthat the potential for GIS use throughout the governmentwas enormous. Subsequently, the following three keyrecommendations were issued:

• A high level national GIS steering committee should beestablished to set standards and oversee the implementationof GIS in Qatar

• A digital basemap should be created for the entire country

• A comprehensive, fully integrated nationwide GIS should beimplemented

Acting on these recommendations, governmentestablished the National GIS Steering Committee and theCentre for GIS (CGIS) and this marked the beginning ofgeospatial journey of the State of Qatar.

As it prepares to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022, the State of Qatar is

hiking its infrastructure investments while ensuring quality amenities and

governance to its citizens. Growing at an amazing rate of 15% per annum,

Qatar has geospatial technology as the vanguard of its development.

Here's a low down on how Qatar is using geospatial technology and

the potential verticals the industry can look to..

STATE OF QATAR


GEOSPATIAL FOOTPRINT

TODAY…

Today, geospatial technology hasenabled businesses in Qatar to tran-scend spatial and temporal barriersand overcome the uncertainties. Withgeospatial technology in the fore-front, Qatar is now capable of effi-cient performance and effectivedelivery of results. The market forgeospatial technology, including thedisciplines of surveying, mapping,remote sensing, photogrammetry,GIS and car navigation, has charted atremendous growth curve in the pastten years. Today, nearly 60 govern-ment agencies in Qatar are usinggeospatial technology as an essen-tial ingredient in their day-to-dayactivities. As all government agen-cies use same standards, their dataand resulting applications are com-patible and interoperable, supportingthe National GIS. In addition, agen-cies are connected through GISnet, ahigh-speed network that allows therapid transfer of data. Qatar is per-haps the only country in the region toprovide fully integrated nation-wide

geospatial data infrastructure.According to Eng. Ali Abdulla AlAbdulla, Assistant Undersecretaryfor Planning Affairs, Ministry ofMunicipality & Urban Planning, thefollowing five elements boosted theuse of geospatial technology-

• Establishment of the Centre for GIS

• Common standards for collecting,storing, retrieving and sharing GIS data

• Data sharing

• Inter-agency coordination

• Nationwide digital mapping programme

Geospatial World has analysedabout 100 organisations in Qatar, theresults of which show the extent ofusage and the potential for geospa-tial technology in Qatar. Table 1shows the number of organisations(as a percentage of total number oforganisations in the vertical) activelyusing geospatial technology in theirprocesses.

The analysis also estimated thepercolation of geospatial technologyin all the 100 organisations surveyed. Table 2 shows the results.An interesting find is that an averageof 9-10 people are working exclu-

sively on geospatial technologies atvarious levels in each of theseorganisations.

ENABLING ROLE OF

CENTRE FOR GIS…

Qatar is currently experiencing anexpanding economy and massiveinfrastructure development. Becauseof the established standards, compa-nies and agencies can easily accessand share geospatial data as theyneed, when they need it. Mohamedabdel- Wahab Hamouda, Head of thePlanning and Projects Division at theCenter for GIS (CGIS), comments,"Data compatibility itself tends toencourage and sustain cooperationamong agencies because data isreadily transferred and is easy touse." With the technical assistance,training, and guidance from CGIS,most government agencies haveimplemented GIS based solutionsthat take advantage of the wealth ofdata that has been created in thepast 20 years.

As the agency responsible formaintaining and providing onlineaccess to Qatar's digital topographicdatabase, CGIS makes sure that thedatabase is comprehensive, com-prises of highly accurate, topologi-cally structured vector maps. It pro-vides high-resolution orthoimageryand satellite and oblique images, ahigh-precision digital elevation mod-el and most recently, a 3D city modelof urban areas with high level ofdetails.


IN VARIOUS SECTORS…

Apart from the projects mentioned inTables 3 and 4, Qatar has been mak-

TABLE 1: Percentage use of geospatial technology in various verticals

VerticalsUse of GeospatialTechnology

Utilities 70%

Construction (including Infrastructure)

62%

Transport & Communication 77%

Financial Services 44%

Governance 85%

Environmental Management

65%

Defence & Security 70%

TABLE 2: Geospatial maturity in Qatar

11% 29% 69%

Startup Diffusion Integrated

GeospatialWorld I September 2011 27

ing significant strides in a host ofvertical segments using geospatialtechnology. The most potential verti-cals for geospatial industry in Qatarare construction and infrastructure,environment monitoring and man-agement, oil and gas and utilities.Here's an analysis of each of these segments.

Construction and Infrastructure

Key Statistics• Qatar's construction sector, whichhas contributed 7.2 percent to theeconomy (2010) has shown an annualgrowth of 17% in 2010

• The construction industry of Qatarwitnessed contracts to the tune of US$20,210 million in 2010, which is expect-ed to increase to US$ 22,149 million by2012.

• It is estimated that Qatar will investaround US $ 60 billion to US $ 70 bil-lion in hotel, leisure, tourism, sports,recreational and infrastructure proj-ects as it prepares to host the FIFAWorld Cup in 2022

• US $ 10 billion was allocated toinfrastructure projects alone in 2010

• Total building construction spend inQatar is estimated to soar to a stag-gering US $ 60 bn. The figure excludesprojects on hold. The country's con-struction projects, in fact, constitute 13per cent of the total projects in theGCC region in terms of value

• Qatar plans to invest US $ 20 billion on road infrastructure projectsbetween 2009 and 2014


TABLE 4: List of projects under CGIS

Project Title Agency Involved Data Sources

LandInformationSystem

Lands & SurveyDepartment

• Policy plans and land use data comes from Land & Survey Dept• Topographic data and satellite imagery comes from CGIS

Qatar National Master Plan

Urban Planning & DevelopmentAuthority

• Topographic, QARS data and aerial photographs from CGIS• Urban Right of Way and QNMP data from UPDA• Cadastral & Policy Plans from Land & Survey Department• Drainage data from PWA• Water & electricity data from KAHRAMAA• Oil & Gas pipeline data from QP

Real Estate RegistrationSystem

Ministry of Justice

• Ministry of Interior provides ownership data and Qatar ID• General Survey Section provides accurate survey for parcels and PIN number• CGIS provides topographic data and ortho images

Call Taker & CommandAidedDispatching

Ministry of Interior

• Topographic, routing, QARS data and satellite imagery from CGIS• Roads flow line coming from Public Works Authority• Fleet & security data from MOI

3D Mission Planning

Ministry of Interior

• 3D City model from CGIS• Roads flow line data from Public Works Authority• Mission & traffic data from MOI

Figure 1: Construction and infrastructure projects (US$ Million)

TABLE 5: Infrastructure projects in Qatar

Projects Cost (US$ bn) Timelines

STADIUMS (4.6%) 3.0 bn

Construction of 9 New Stadiums 2011-2021

Renovation of 3 stadiums 2012-2020

TRANSPORTATION (30.8%) 20.0

National Railway (Qatar-Bahrain) 2011-2019

National Railway (Qatar-KSA) 2011-2017

Metro System 2011-2020

ROADS (36.9%) 24.0

Qatar Bahrain Motor Way 4.0 2011-2015

Road Systems 20.0 2011-2016

ACCOMODATION (19.1%) 2011-2022

FIFA (0.9%) 0.6

FIFA confederation 2021 & 2022 2011-2022

OTHERS (7.7%) 5.0

Doha Airport (remaining work) 2010-2017

Doha Bay Crossing N/A

Media Facilities N/A

Total Expenditures 65.0

TABLE 3: Major projects in Qatar which are using geospatial technology

Qatar National DevelopmentFramework(QNDF)

• Establishes the spatial framework to achieve national human, social, economic and environmental goals• Based on Qatar's National Vision 2030, Millennium Development Goals and Principles of Advancing Sustainable Development.

Qatar National Master Plan (QNMP)

• It is creating an integrated package of plans, policies and regulations applicable tonational, municipality, city and town jurisdictions.

Qatar Area ReferencingSystem (QARS)

• Created a comprehensive database that serves the requirements of all concernedagencies in Qatar by using GIS to link the new property number with its geographiclocation and the numbers from other agencies. (QTel, electricity, water, PIN number,etc.)

Transportation • Aims at developing a high quality road network using satellite imageries, aerial photographs and GIS

Master Plan of Qatar (TMPQ)

• Geospatial technology is being used for analysing the current transport system, develop transport models for future, develop scheme implementation scenarios and study the analyse the impact of each scheme

Figure 1 breaks down projects inQatar by their current status of con-struction namely, planned, design,tendered, under construction or onhold, as of January 2011. Table 5gives the list of all major infrastruc-ture projects in Qatar along withtheir timelines. In Qatar, The PublicWorks Authority provides and main-tains state-of-the-art infrastructurethat fully meets the national socio-economic development plans. In thisendeavour, geospatial technology isplaying a crucial role in infrastruc-ture planning, design and manage-ment. Some of the examples ofgeospatial utility are given in Table 6.

Environmental Monitoring & ManagementThe dichotomy of wealth and scarcityplays out at all levels of Qatar'seconomy and ecology. Significantwealth in hydrocarbons has generat-ed one of the world's highest percapita incomes, but extreme scarcityof water and arable land has createdequally unusual vulnerabilities anddeficits. The government's firstNational Development Strategy sets

out a plan for 2011-2016 that bal-ances economic growth and environ-mental protection. Government isplanning to build new databases andformulate new ways of managingknowledge. Equally important in thelong-term agenda, Qatar will developthe capacity and the culture for rou-tinely processing, sharing and inter-preting information. This, in turn,requires an open, transparent cul-ture where knowledge bases arekept current and easily accessible. Inestablishing functional knowledgesystems, the government will be in astrong position to monitor both com-pliance with and impacts of new poli-

cies and regulations. "Backed withone of the best GIS implementationsin the world - the 'Qatar GIS', theEnvironment Department has devel-oped GIS applications and has start-ed using GIS for decision support ina big way! Implementing GIS itself inthe department was a meticulouslychalked out plan" said Dr JamalBukhari. Table 7 gives the projectsunder the Environment Department:

Oil & GasSitting pretty with 14% of all knownreserves in the world, the oil and gassector in Qatar accounts for around60% of Qatar's GDP. For years, oiland gas companies have usedgeospatial technology to decidewhere to drill a well, route a pipelineand build a plant or refinery. Todaygeospatial technology provides solu-tions throughout the petroleum life-cycle from exploration to productionoperations.

Qatar Petroleum (QP) has over500 geospatial users spread overmultiple locations onshore and off-shore. "We have been using GIS for production of maps and charts andconducting statistical analysis and database queries" said Dr Abu-Bakr Abdelzaher, Head of

GeospatialWorld I September 2011

TABLE 6: Construction projects undertaken by Public Works Authority

Moazanah - Capital Budget Request ManagementSystem

It is a centralised browser-based budgeting system which makes use of a Web-based GIS. This will allow simultaneous submissions by agencies electronically, following which they will be validated, estimated, budgeted and sent to the Minister of Finance for approval

Ashghalg-Governance

This Unified Platform for federating data and services using spatial-enabled Ser-vice Oriented Architecture. It also simplifies communication between disparate information systems, drives interoperability to new levels, and puts flexi-bility into the organisations business practices

Qatar Design Enquiry System (QDES)

It is a collaboration initiative for infrastructure design. It aims at providing collabo-rative environment for government agencies & private organisations. It will workas "virtual meeting room" with online collaboration

Qatar Permit for RoadOpening (QPRO)

It is a collaboration initiative between governmental agencies (specifically the util-ities). The system is live since 2007. It collaborates with key utility agencies andplanning agencies before issuing permit to dig any part of a road

Enhanced Qatar Permitfor Road Opening

It is collaboration between governmental agencies and private contractors. Itcaptures lifecycle RO process. It is a decision making support tool used fordiversion planning, impact analysis, conflict detection and is accessible to thestakeholders

TABLE 7: Projects under Environment Department

Environment Site Assessment and Management System(ESAMS)

ESAMS is a decision support system totally developed in Arc View (V3.2) tohelp evaluate and assess the environmental viability of a site for any kind ofdevelopmental activity. The basis of this evaluation is a site suitability map thatis derived by integrating at least 15 different themes like hydrogeology, geolo-gy, urban development, vegetation, fragile landforms etc

Qatar Air Quality ModellingSystem

This system was developed by Qatar Petroleum (QP) and Total Research Cen-tre - Qatar (TRC-Q) to elucidate the causes of the high ozone levels in Qatar'slower atmosphere. This emission inventory coupled with GIS produces a geo-referenced database of primary pollutants which serves as an input for themodelling platform.

Groundwater ResourcesInformation System (QaG-WRIS)

Initiated by The Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (DAWR),QaGWRIS is a centralised, GIS based, integrated information managementsystem that allows storage and management of all information on groundwaterresources and the environment

29

QP Engineering & Topographic DataCentre. Table 8 highlights one of themajor projects using geospatialtechnology in oil and gas sector inthe State of Qatar.

Mesaieed Industrial City has tak-en the initiative to use geospatialtechnology for planning and manag-ing land in Mesaieed. Applicationsalready planned include: utilitiesmanagement, environmental man-agement and assessment, nauticalinformation system & web mappingand map viewer interface withdynamic map representation.

Also planned are links betweenGIS and other applications such asland allocation, lease management,building permit, safe work permit, e-maintenance and security andaccess control.

UtilitiesThe utilities sector is complex and ischanging rapidly as companies pur-sue new models of value creation. AtMEED Project conference 2011, a topofficial of Qatar General Electricityand Water Corporation (KAHRAMAA)mentioned that infrastructure devel-opment projects worth QR 70 billionwill be made in the utility sector inthe next decade.

Telecom

Qatar ranks among the top threecountries in the Arab world in termsof the numbers of computers, Inter-net, wireline, wireless and broadbandusers, according to the InternationalTelecommunication Union and theUnited Nations. One of the leadingtelecom service provider in Qatar isQatar Telecom (QTel). QTel joinedQatar government in implementing anationwide GIS platform that wouldeventually serve a wide variety ofgovernment agencies, communica-tions service providers (CSPs) andother entities. After seeing the bene-fits of GIS, QTel started a pilot projectto use GIS for mapping and manag-ing its network. In 1998, QTel beganconverting more than 5,000 paperdrawings of its copper network intoelectronic form for use with the GISplatform. At the same time, QTel hasbeen automating its facilities man-agement, including its planning andengineering operations.

Electricity

Power generation in Qatar todaystands close to 7,881 MW while theactual peak requirement is a littlemore than 6,100 MW. With the com-plete commissioning of the 2,730 MWRas Girtas project, the power gener-ation would exceed 9,000 MW. Evenat the current rate, the countrywould not face any electricity short-age until 2015. The developments inthe Qatar electricity sector areexpected to augment in coming yearswith the electricity consumptionexpected to grow at a CAGR ofaround 15% during 2010-2014. It isforecast that between 2011 and 2020,an increase in Qatari electricity gen-eration of 90.7%, which is among thehighest for MEA region. This equates

to 37.7% during 2015-2020 period,down from 38.5% in 2011-2015.Qatar General Electricity and WaterCorporation (KAHRAMAA) is the soletransmission and distribution systemowner and operator (TDSOO) for theelectricity and water sectors in Qatar.The electrical network data sectionprepares and archives the proposedand as-built electrical network datain electronic format using GIS.

Statistics indicate that over theyears, the demand for electricity hasdrastically increased. KAHRAMAAtoday has its own GIS databasewhich includes electricity transmis-sion network, electricity distributionnetwork and proposed electrical net-work. It also has access to publicdatabase like topography, parcels,roads, imagery etc. It is currentlyusing Citrix servers which let theuser create virtualised applications,server desktops, or content quicklyand easily.

Water

The current generation of potablewater of 324 million gallons a day(MIGD) is far more than the peakrequirements of 220 MGD. At theongoing rate of growth, the countrywould have to generate additionalquantities between 2017 and 2020. In


TABLE 8: Major project using geospatial tech inoil and gas sector

Project Title Project Description

GIS-based Spatial Utility & Process Networksfor Oil & gas IndustrialPlants

This project extended the domainof GIS to include process plantboundaries, limited the exclusionzone to process batteries andcaptured each main process/utili-ty pipelines and cables alongwith all associated facilities as aspatial network. It provided cen-tral storage of QP graphic andattribute data, improved decisionmaking and made it easier toview, analyse, query and print thedata, thus increasing the opera-tional efficiency

The geospatial journey thatbegan in 1988 is going in the

right direction with a mission tomake infformation sharingeasier, safer and cheaper

between organisations and endusers. Geospatial technoloogyhas enabled the ministries,

development agencies,academia and private sector towork in unison towards a more

developed Qatar.

2020, additional quantities of desali-nated water to the tune of 159 MIGDhave to be generated to meet thecountry's requirements at the cur-rent level of growth. In order to storeadditional quantities of desalinatedwater, the country would requirereservoirs capable of storing morethan 1,900 MIGD by the turn of thedecade. Huge investments wouldalso be made to lay water pipelinesfrom Ras Laffan to southern areas incoming years. Investments worth QR20 billion are expected on this scorealone. WATER-GIS division of Kahra-maa maintains the data, provides GISsolutions, creates awareness, man-ages the databases and implementsand improves GIS section's proce-dures and standards.

Global Navigation Satellite System(GNSS)The State of Qatar has been doingexceptionally well in GNSS by usingnationwide Continuously OperatingReference Station (CORS) networkfor updating maps in real-time. TheCORS network now plays a majorrole in all geodetic and topographicsurveys to update Qatar's maps, aswell as in integrating collected GISdata into the common nationwideGIS database. The new CORS-Qatarnetwork consists of nine referencestations and helps many organisa-tions using RTK and GIS roversreceive differential corrections fortheir day-to-day activities. The net-work is also used for hydrographicsurveys, offshore and ocean naviga-tion etc.

CONCLUSION…

The geospatial journey that began in1988 is going in the right directionwith a mission to make information

sharing easier, safer and cheaperbetween organisations and endusers. Geospatial technology hasthus enabled the ministries, develop-ment agencies, academia and private sector to work in unisontowards a more developed Qatar. Allthis has been possible because ofthe strong initiatives taken by thegovernment in this regard. CGIS hasbeen playing a pivotal role instrengthening Qatar's geospatialinfrastructure. The willingness of the

people to go the geospatial way iscommendable. It has not reached thedesired level due to lack of aware-ness in certain pockets, but withstrong capacity building initiativestaken by the government and theacademia, geospatial technologywould soon reach every house andwould prove to be indispensable forday-to-day activities.

Aditya ChopraManager - Business Development (Middle East & Europe)

[email protected]

GeospatialWorld I September 2011 31

TABLE 9: Projects utilising geospatial technology in utilities sector

Project Description

TELECOM

Telcordia Network Engineer

This application uses geospatial information to provide a comprehensivefoundation for designing, documenting and managing network infrastructure.It is being used to plan, review, and approve construction work.

Web-based Network Inventory

Since most of the QTel staff would like to access latest information, webbased GIS application was developed for better decision making.

GIS Web Mapping System

This system has been developed to carry out service feasibility for Mozaic,Telephone, ADSL etc. GIS has been used in planning, dealing with the issueof new subscriber telephone lines, IPTV, ADSL based on current subscriberlocation and managing the access network.

ELECTRICITY

GIS Data disseminationusing thin client technolo-gy for emergency officesof KAHRAMAA

This project is facilitating access to data from the GIS servers to the Remoteoffices. The GIS Servers were connected with remote centers using thin client connectivity thus enabling the staff at the centres to access GIS database and pinpoint the exact location of a fault or customer

WATER

Water GIS TechnologyMigration Project

This project's goal was to implement GIS within KAHRAMAA with latestESRI ArcGIS 9.3.1 GIS Technology. This project has addressed issuesrelated to data dictionary, database design, migration and deployment,migration of existing applications, automation of data integrations from othercorporate databases like SCADA and ERP.

Data Dictionary

It contains information on all aspects of the data model. The dictionary alsodescribes various features and entities (or non-geographic object classes)and their attributes in line with CGIS guidelines. It provides a description ofall required domains, or lists of acceptable values, and subtypes of features, as well as the relationship classes that exist betweenvarious features

Web Viewer

This application is a web-based engine that offers KAHRAMAA the conven-ience of viewing and analysing the water network over the web and generat-ing condensed yet comprehensive statistical reports pertaining to the waterdata. It also has built-in GIS functionalities and spatial analysis tools

Water Data MaintenanceUpdate Application

This application provides an editing solution geared towards the needs of the water utility's end users. It consists of Version Manager Module that implements a versioning strategy allowing users to simultaneously cre-ate multiple, persistent representations of the database without data replica-tion

Engineering DrawingsArchiving (EDA)

This application provides a mechanism for users and administrators atKAHARMAA (W) to have access to engineering drawings related to the different assets and facilities in the GIS water network.

Though geographically small,Kuwait is a wealthy and a relatively open economy with

crude oil reserves to the tune of 102billion barrels or 9 percent of theworld's total. Petroleum is the mainstay of Kuwaiti economy andaccounts for nearly half of the totalGDP and 95 percent export revenues.Authorities are keen to evolve newtechniques of oil production and havecommitted to raise the output to 4million barrels per day from thepresent 2.5 million by the end of thisdecade.

Its heavy reliance on the oil sec-tor cost the Kuwaiti economy dearly

during the 2009 recession whenglobal crude oil prices took a sharpplunge, resulting in the country'sreal GDP falling to -4.5 percent.

Kuwait Development Plan

2013-14 & Vision 2035

Owing to factors like its positive fiscal situation and a poor business climate, Kuwait has done little todiversify its economy. However, government recently passed a neweconomic development plan thatallocates KD 37 billion (USD 130 billion) for greater economic diversification. Approved by the parliament in February 2010, theKuwait Development Plan (KDP)aims to privatise a number of government entities such as theKuwait Airways and utilities likeelectricity and water.

The new development plan isexpected to increase the real GDPgrowth of the private sector to anaverage rate of 8.8 percent while the non-oil GDP is projected to grow at the rate of 7.5 percent. The KDP is just the initial phase ofthe Kuwait Vision 2035, which hasthe mandate to make Kuwait a hubfor investments from the private sector, which will lead all economicactivities.


With its ambitious plans for greater economic

diversification, increasing public awareness and

good research support, Kuwait is on its way to

achieve maturity in geospatial application

KUWAIT

Figure 1: Kuwait real GDP growth figures (Source:

Central Statistical Office, Central Bank of Kuwait, IMF)

Figure 2: Contribution of various sectors to Kuwait

GDP in 2009 (Source: Central Bank of Kuwait & IMF)

32

Kuwait's geospatial

footprint

Kuwait is one of the first countries inthe Arab world to start the use ofgeospatial technology way back in1982 with the municipality carryingout an ambitious project to createthematic maps for the entire country.Subsequently, geospatial technologywas used widely in urban planning.However, the progress made in thedomain was severely hampered bythe country's invasion in 1990 andmost of the projects suffered intensedamage as the data was captured bythe invading Iraqi troops. After thewar, the municipality had to beginafresh to recreate the database andstart the project again.

During the early 2000s, KuwaitUniversity, which pioneered thedevelopment and utilisation ofgeospatial technology, initiated amassive project to develop a nationalcentre of GIS in Kuwait that wouldserve all government bodies acrossthe country. With due support fromthe cabinet and government organi-sations, the project was commencedin 2006. Other organisations quicklyfollowed suit and today geospatialtechnology is used in various min-istries including the Ministry ofDefence, Ministry of Internal Affairs,Ministry of Public Works and theMinistry of Finance. Most of theseorganisations have dedicated GISdepartments. Geospatial technologyforms the backbone of governmentorganisations such as the Kuwait OilCompany, Environment PublicAuthority and Public Authority forCivil Information. Kuwait Universityand Kuwait Institute for ScientificResearch are doing appreciable work

in this domain. Aptly summing upthe present status of geospatialtechnology in the country, DrMohammed Irfan-Ullah, ProjectManager, eMISK says, "Kuwait hadto suffer because of the invasion andpost-invasion issues. However, nowthat the infrastructure has startedcoming in, geospatial technologyremains the natural choice for man-aging, presenting and analysing datain most of the government agencies.Last few years have seen substantialgrowth in the use of geospatial tech-nology and it is catching up momen-tum to engulf the entire region."

Business Drivers

Oil and gas: Kuwait has the fourthlargest oil reserves on the planet andthe country's oil and gas sector hasplayed a vital role in sustaining itseconomy. Project Kuwait, whichseeks to increase the oil productioncapacity to 4 billion barrels per dayby the end of 2011 and 5 billion bar-rels by 2020, also involves a plan topermit oil companies from othercountries to invest in the sector. TheKuwait Oil Company, one of thelargest oil producers in the country,is a prolific user of geospatial tech-nology and has a dedicated GISdepartment that seeks to implementthe technology in most of the proj-ects.

Government support: The govern-ment in Kuwait is well aware of thetremendous potential of geospatialtechnology and is working to imple-ment it in the day-to-day functioningof its organisations. Highlighting thisfact, Dr. Jasem M. Al-Ali, AssistantProfessor of GIS & Environmental

Sciences at the College of Social Sci-ences in Kuwait University says, "Anumber of GIS related projects arefinanced by government organisa-tions, apart from establishing GIScentres in these bodies. Governmentfully realises the tremendous poten-tial of this technology and is support-ing people who are specialised inthis field." Supporting this view, Dr.Hamdy El-Gamily, DDG office, Geoin-formatics Centre, Kuwait Institute forScientific Research (KISR) says,"Most of the ministries have startedto use geospatial technology in theirdaily business. However, there is stilla lot of scope for improvement inboth public and private sectors."

Fairly mature market: The Kuwaitipeople are well aware of the signifi-cance of geospatial technology andthe maturity level is increasing rapidly, as suggested by Dr. Jasem,"Kuwait is about 75-80 percentmature in terms of the use of

geospatial technology." MohammedAbd El Fadil, GIS Consultant, Public Authority for Civil Information, however, shares a different view. He says, "Geospatial technology in Kuwait is fairly new. Though government firms want and under-stand the significance of geospatialtechnology, but it still has a long way to go."


The missing part is thatthere is no focal point

like SDI where everybodycan link and facilitateeassy sharing of data

33

Potential Verticals

Construction and infrastructure: TheKuwait Development Plan allocatesUSD 108 billion for infrastructuredevelopment. The investment coversclose to one thousand infrastructureprojects of different sizes, which willbe handled by the private sector orgovernment. The private sector proj-ects will be based on the build-oper-ate-transfer scheme. Table 1 listsout the infrastructure projectsunderway in Kuwait.

Environment: Kuwait is investingheavily in environment sector and

various projects aimed at gatheringcomprehensive inventories in theregion during the next five years willcost around USD 100 million, witheach of the projects consisting of asignificant geospatial component.

The Environment Public Authori-ty, mandated to protect the environ-ment, uses geospatial technology formost of its projects. It is currentlyimplementing the eMISK or Environ-mental Management InformationSystem of Kuwait project, whichseeks to create a system that wouldhouse all geological and geo-envi-ronmental information of the country

and facilitate its easy sharingbetween various government entities.

Highlighting the importance ofEPA and the eMISK project, Moham-mad Al-Ahmad, Director eMISK,Environment Public Authority says,"Just one and half year after estab-lishing eMISK, EPA has become theleader in Kuwait as far as environ-ment management is concerned. Wehave managed to create an excellentenvironmental database of the coun-try, and have inspired collaborationand data sharing towards holisticgrowth"

Research and academia: The Geoin-formatics Centre at KISR (KuwaitInstitute for Scientific Research) wasestablished in the early nineties andhas the mandate to provideresources to the ministries andorganisations carrying out geospatial

projects. Underlining the importanceof the centre, Dr. Hamdy says, "Apartfrom our research function, we provide all KISR R&D divisions withthe required support in geospatialtechnology. Now almost 100 percentof the projects need GIS maps andGIS database. We also have manyproposals from ministries and institutes in Kuwait to implement GISin their organisations. So, we havealso started to be a consultant in GISin Kuwait."


The need of the houris to build quality human

resources that couldtake the country onto the nexxt level ofgeospatial usage

Table 1: Infrastructure projects underway in Kuwait

Name of the Project

Mandate of the Project

Cost of the project


Silk City To construct a 250 sq km planned urbanarea in Subiya, Kuwait consisting ofhotels, tourist attractions, business cen-tre, conference areas, environmentalareas etc.

KD 25 billion (USD94 billion)

Construction inprogress. Expect-ed to be completeby 2016

Railroad System To build a railroad system that would worktowards easing the traffic congestion

KD 4 billion (USD15 billion)

College City inShadadiyah

To construct a new University City thatwill provide a modern campus with stateof the art facilities for academic staff, stu-dents and other employees of Kuwait Uni-versity

KD 1.6 billion(USD 5.98 billion)

Construction inprogress

Boubyan IslandDevelopment

Development of Boubyan Island to con-struct a nature preserve, Boubyan Port,Resorts and lake

KD 1.5 billion(USD 5.64 billion)


Mutlaa ResidentialCity

Construction of a huge residential citycomprising 25,000 residences, 119schools, 110 mosques, 10 governmentbuildings, 10 police stations and 10health centres

KD 890 million(USD 3.34 billion)

Kuwait InternationalAirport (Terminal 2)

To increase the capacity of the airport to20 million passengers per year from thepresent 13 million

KD 329 million(USD 1.23 billion)

Construction inprogress. Expect-ed to be completeby 2014

Table 2: Project under the Environment Public Authority

Name of the Project


Cost of the project


eMISK (EnvironmentalManagementInformation Systemof Kuwait)

To create a system that would house all geological and geo-environmentalinformation of the country and facilitate its easy sharing between governmententities

Cost of establish-ment (first phase)KD 1.26 million(USD 4.54 million).Estimated cost ofsecond phase KD2.5 million (USD 9million)

The project beganin December2009. First phaseto be completedby February 2012.

35GeospatialWorld I September 2011

Public services: The Public Authorityfor Civil Information (PACI) isinvolved in a huge GIS-based project to create a unified and accurate base map for the state ofKuwait including its administrativeboundaries, land parcels, buildingsetc. A part of the project is to developthe solution that manages the work-flow related to GIS. Currently, theagency is in the process of analysisand production and expects to com-plete the project within a year.

Highlighting the significance ofGIS for his organisation, MohammedAbd El Fadil says, "GIS representsaround 30-40 percent of the corebusiness here, which says a lot aboutits contribution for the smooth functioning of the PACI."

Challenges and way ahead

Data availability and standards:Kuwait has a huge pool of data butmost of it is not GIS-ready and needsto be processed before it can beused. "The data received by geoinfor-matics centre is not GIS-ready. So wehave to process it using various toolsand make sure that it becomesusable," says Dr. Hamdy.

Lack of policy framework: Kuwait isone of the first nations in the gulfregion to start using GIS. However,the progress has been pretty slowand there is still no agency that hasthe mandate to effectively managespatial data. On the efforts to buildan SDI, Dr. Jasem says, "We areplanning to have an SDI that will helpin sharing of information amongstdifferent departments. The project isstill in the planning phase and wehope to implement it soon."Support-ing the view, Mohammed Al Ahmadsays, "The missing part is that we donot have a focal point like an SDI andthe way we have to distribute thedata is also not clear till now. Kuwaitis heading towards having a good GIS

community and I hope it would bedone in a very professional way."

Inadequate use: Geospatial technol-ogy in Kuwait is still in its nascentstages and lags a bit behind whencompared to other countries in theregion such as Qatar and UAE.

"Qatar is one of the most exten-sive users of GIS in the GCC region.Abu Dhabi has an excellent SDI.Bahrain is also using GIS widely invarious verticals. Compared to that, Ibelieve Kuwait is a bit behind and wehave to accelerate to catch up withthe region. We are pushing hard tohave our SDI project ready and Ioncewe have it, we will be up there withthe best," says a respondent who didnot want to be quoted.

Human resourcce development: Asthe use of geospatial technologygrows in the country, the need is tobuild quality human resources, whocould take the industry on to the nextlevel. Highlighting KISR's work in thefield, Dr Hamdy says, "We also havethe job of human resource develop-ment. We bring people from min-istries - that have projects with KISRin GIS - straight into the geoinfor-matics centre to work with us."

Need for more private players:Another way ahead is to have moreprivate players such as softwareproviders and data providers, whocan fulfil the requirements of theusers. Stressing on the need, Dr Hamdy says, "As of now we haveenough private players but a fewyears down the line the market willneed more professional companies."

Vaibhav [email protected]

Table 3: Projects under Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research


Utilisation of geoinformatics inMinistry of Public Works

To analyse the existing GIS usageand data availability in the ministryand provide a detailed roadmap forimplementing sophisticated GIS sys-tem for managing upcoming projects

Ongoing. Scheduled to be completed in one year

National Educational Atlas ofKuwait

To create a comprehensive GIS forall infrastructure and facilities of education sector in Kuwait

First phase completed in 2011.Second phase to begin soon

Kuwait Integrated Environmen-tal Information Network (KIEIN)

To create a database for marine,coastal, terrestrial, atmospheric anddemographic environment for theState of Kuwait and to produce dif-ferent environmental indicators andindices from the geoenvironmentaldatabase of KIEIN

Three phases completed. Finalphase to begin in January 2012

GIS-based Avian Flu predictionmodel

To build a warning system that canpredict the outbreak of Avian Flu indifferent countries across the world

Completed

Table 4: Projects under the Public Authority forCivil Information

Name of theProject

Mandate ofthe Project


Base map cre-ation forKuwait

To create anaccurate basemap for thestate of Kuwait,which includesthe administra-tive bound-aries, landparcels,buildings,streets etc.

Analysis phasecurrently on.Expected to becompletedwithin a year

Uniquely located in the heart ofthe Gulf, Bahrain has themost diversified economy in

the Persian Gulf. Bahrain offersexcellent investment opportunitiesand unhindered access to the MiddleEast and North African markets.According to the World EconomicForum (not taking recent events intoaccount), Bahrain is one of the stableeconomies. According to IMF, theeconomy of Bahrain managed thefinancial crisis well.

GEOSPATIAL BEGINNING…

The story of Bahrain and how it grewto become a geospatially endowednation is an instructive lesson. It is aresult of the amalgamation of thevision, hard work and the country'sdynamic economic policy.

Bahrain’s geospatial journeygained momentum in 2004 whenCabinet Decree No. 3/2004 wasenacted to recognise the importanceof geospatial technology and

terming it as an indispensible decision support tool. The decreeestablished the National Committeefor Geographic Information Systems(NCGIS). Headed by the minister for cabinet affairs, the committee constituted key people from all ministries and organisationsinvolved in the production and use of spatial data.

Geospatial technology has provided a new dimension to planand monitor projects across thenation, thus delivering the necessaryfillip to Bahraini government'sendeavours for equitable develop-


Source: CIA World Fact Book

Growing in tandem with ICT sector, geospatial industry in Bahrain is

benefiting from trade liberalisation, e-government initiatives, economic

diversification drive of the government and the consequent demand from all

sectors of the economy. Geospatial World takes a peek into the geospatial

scene of this island state. Read on to know more..

KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

36

ment in line with the country's 2030economic vision.


TODAY…

The geospatial growth in Bahrain isat par with the growth of ICT in theregion. With giant strides in ICT sector, the integration of IT withgeospatial technology has becomewidespread. The Bahrain informationand communication technology (ICT)market is expected to reach USD 180billion by 2012 (source: Markaz -GCC Infrastructure Report 2010), dueto high demand for IT products andservices from both public and privatesectors. With the geospatial marketexpected to register a compoundannual growth rate (CAGR) of around6% over the forecast period, theKingdom of Bahrain will continue tobe a lucrative market for technologyproducts and services, benefitingfrom trade liberalisation, strongdemand from almost all sectors andgovernment geospatial and e-gover-nance initiatives. The growing needfor robust IT solutions is also beingdriven by massive e-government ande-commerce initiatives, which areaimed at achieving economic diversi-fication.

According to CIO Bahrainsources, the present value ofgeospatial market is between USD250 and 300 million. There has beena growing awareness of the impor-tance of geospatial technologyamong government organisations inthe country and an increasing num-ber of organisations are utilisinggeospatial technology in some way,either in managing their data andassets and/or in supporting their

strategic decisions. Indeed, geospa-tial technology is now accepted inthe Kingdom of Bahrain as a main-stream technology within local gov-ernment and utilities, particularly formanaging infrastructure.

To analyse the status of the utilityof geospatial technology in Bahrain,Geospatial World conducted surveyinvolving the various governmentagencies in the region. Table 1 showsthe basis on which the survey isbased and a few observations.

On the basis of the survey, it isestimated that about 85-90% of thegovernment organisations are mak-ing use of geospatial information and50-55% of private industry is now

relying on geospatial information.At the government level, a

notable number of agencies haveintroduced the technology into theirstrategic business plans. The mostnotable examples in this respect arethe Central Planning Unit (CPU) ofthe Ministry of Housing and Works,Survey and Land RegistrationBureau, Central Informatics Organi-zation (CIO) and the Ministry ofMunicipalities and Agriculture.

The results of a recent surveycarried out by the Department ofSocial Sciences at UOB indicate thatgeospatial technology is used in various tasks in a wide variety of gov-ernment agencies as well as local


Table 1: Geospatial World survey observations

FactorGroups

Key Factors Decision Criteria Observations

Resources Organisationalcharacteristics(RO)

• Support of the decision makers for data sharing• Organisation's geospatial data experience• Geospatial data usage

• Decision makers are in favour ofdata sharing• Every organisation is involved indata collection, analysis, storage, updation and sharing

HumanResources (RH)

• Adequate staff associated with geospatial data and GIS• Adequate expert staff• Staff trained in GIS software

• Lack of adequate manpower• More specialised GIS expertsneeded

FinancialResources (RF)

• Geospatial data activities funding• Financial support for datasharing• Existing financial resources

• Geospatial projects are adequately funded• More funds needed with increasing geospatial applications

Training (RT) • Priority for geospatial education• Training programmes

• University of Bahrain has introduced GIS into its curricula• Need for specialized and on-jobtraining

Policy Cost recovery(PC)

• Cost of geospatial data creation, maintenance andupdates• Impact of the geospatial data sharing on the cost of data maintenance

• Geospatial technology has provedto be very useful in reducing thecosts by 64%, increasing the dataavailability by 100% and reducingthe service delivery time by 72%

Data ownership(PD)

• Existing data ownership policy• Existing data ownership agreements

• Geospatial data sharing policies do exist

Awareness (PA) • Existing level of NSDI awareness• Existing and future NSDIawareness programmes

• People are aware of the NSDI initiative• Adequate training programmesand conferences are organised by CIO and other organisations

37

government and municipalities. Inaddition to those mentioned above,the Ministry of Electricity and Water,Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bap-co), Bahrain TelecommunicationsCompany (Batelco), Ministry of Inte-rior (which has recently developed itsown Geographic Security System),Ministry of Health and Wild life andEnvironment Protection Committeeare actively utilising geospatial tech-nology.

However, there is significant vari-ation between organisations that areregular users of geographic informa-tion (they have computer literatestaff, they hold their own geospatialdatasets, have a high proportion ofdigital geospatial data, they updatetheir datasets more regularly, theyare larger organisations) and thosethat do not use geographic informa-tion regularly. The importanceattached to training varied signifi-cantly across the organisations, asdid the level of financial commitmentto geospatial technology. It is alsoobserved that there is a high degreeof awareness vis-a-vis data sharing.The survey results point out thatabout 70% of the organisations wereengaged in data exchange. However,government agencies were muchmore likely to share/exchange data

than privatefirms or educa-tional institu-tions. Updatingwas often 'out-sourced'.

Enabling roleof CIO BahrainWith the objective ofimplementing a successful

geospatial infrastructure and enter-prise GIS in the Kingdom of Bahrain,the GIS Directorate of Central Informatics Organisation (CIO), actsas the primary stakeholder and thecustodian of geospatial databases inthe country. It is now incorporatingspatial models into its base technol-ogy, enabling stakeholders from government, public and private sectors to use geographic tools intheir applications. Table 1 gives thelist of geospatial achievements ofGIS Directorate of CIO Bahrain. Figure 2 shows the ways in whichBahrain is benefiting by usinggeospatial technology.

National GIS Steering Committee(NGISSC) In compliance with the prime minis-ter's decree of 2004 for the creation

of the National GIS Steering Committee (NGISSC), and recom-mendations to establish the 'BahrainSpatial Data Infrastructure (BSDI)',an initiative lead by the National GISSteering Committee (NGISSC) decid-ed to develop a National GeospatialData Clearinghouse (NGDC). Thedevelopment of NGDC involved allgeospatial data stakeholders in theKingdom of Bahrain. The committeehas taken several progressive stepstowards the implementation of aspatial data infrastructure in theKingdom.

Bahrain Spatial Data Infrastructure

(BSDI)

BSDI is a repository of geospatialdata. It is an endeavour to cater tothe geospatial requirements of allgovernment organisations, privatesector companies, academic institu-tions and public sector organisationsof the Kingdom of Bahrain. Present-ly, more than 20 government and private authorities are benefitingfrom the portal of BSDI.

NGISSC has successfully imple-mented the 'Data Exchange Policy' tobenefit data users and providersalike. This acts as a binding deed fordata exchange for parties involvedand incorporates agreementsregarding exchange procedures andprotection of data and data sources.

Data standards ensure effectivesharing and easy dissemination of

Figure 1: Return on investment & key benefits of usinggeospatial technology Courtesy: CIO Bahrain

Table 2: Status of achievements of GIS Directorate of CIO Bahrain

Achievement Example Status

InstitutionalFramework

Data sharing policies, data pricing policies etc

Published

Technical Standards

Data format, dataexchange, software,metadata etc

Published

FundamentalDatasets

Geographicdatabases, basic map features etc

Achieved

TechnicalFramework

Actual hardware, communicationfacilities etc

Achieved

BSDI Portal Implemented

Level of maturity visible in Bahrain Courtesy: CIO, Bahrain


Level of metadata availability in Bahrain

38


data resulting in user satisfactionamongst the stakeholders. Stan-dards followed by BSDI are officiallymandated and are in accordancewith the specifications of internation-al organisations like ISO and OpenGeospatial Consortium (OGC), Inc.

Geospatial projects in BahrainA high degree of awareness and acommitted government are ensuringgreater penetration of geospatialtechnology into the organisationalfabric of Bahrain. Several sectorsalready show maturity in utilisingthis technology and offer ampleopportunities to the industry. Oil and gas sector accounts for 80% of Bahrain's exports and itaccounts to 20% of Bahrain's GDP.Bahrain is planning on spendingmore than US $20 billion in the next 20 years in developing its oil and gas sector.

Bahrain is a well connectednation in terms of mobile phone sub-scription base, with the market pen-etration greater than 150% relative toits population. The telecommunica-tions sector contributes 4.7% of GDPand offers ample opportunities forgeospatial industry.

In 2009, Bahrain had 2.8gigawatts (GW) of installed electricgenerating capacity. All of Bahrain'selectricity was generated with con-ventional thermal sources, mostlynatural gas and oil. In total, 11.2 bil-lion KWH of electric power was gen-erated in 2009. Bahrain's electricitygeneration grew by an average of 9percent in the last five years, andBahrain's Electricity and WaterAuthority (EWA) expects this level ofgrowth throughout this decade.

Desalinated water now accountsfor more than 80% of Bahrain's

water consumption, a proportion that is likely to increase over time.Desalinated water capacity hasincreased significantly since 2009with the commissioning of the thirdphase of the Hidd Power Companydesalination plant, which has raisedoutput to 90 mn gallons a day (g/d) -an increase of 60 mn g/d over itsprevious capacity.

Defence is another potential sector for geospatial industry inBahrain. The government spendsaround $ 630 million annually on themilitary, which accounts to about20% of the total expenditure. Withthe help of the U.S. and the GulfCooperation Council, Bahrain hasupgraded its defence systems andmodernises its armed forces overthe past 20 years. Bahrain's strategiclocation in the Gulf has made it an

ideal place for travel and trade. Thisgeographical advantage has alsonecessitated a sophisticated security systems, be it surveillanceSetting up the National GIS SteeringCommittee and BSDI has tremen-dously helped in mainstreaming thegeospatial activities across the verti-

Application Description

Ministry of EducationGIS Application

This application is developed to locateeducational institutions, points of interest like public schools, private schools, universities, training cen-ters, libraries, institutions for the disabledetc. It also provides statistical informationof gender wise distribution of students inschools, colleges and universities

Ministry of Health GISApplication

Powered by GIS technology, this applicationallows users to access the list of hospitals,health centers, doctors, patients, ambu-lances, blood donors and emergency cen-ters in Bahrain. Furthermore, it assists thedecision makers by providing a statisticalaccount of patients with terminal illnesses

Ministry of SocialDevelopment GISApplication

This application enables the users to locatesocial centers of interest and to retrieveinformation on various services and pro-grammes offered in terms of homes for oldciti`zens, centers for women, etc. In addition,the application provides important andupdated demographic statistical informationwhich is used in decision making for morecommunity centers depending upon therequirement and location.

Table 3: Geospatial projects in Bahrain

NGISSC has successfullyimplemented the 'DataExchange Policy', which

acts as a binding deed fordataa exchange for partiesinvolved and incorporates

agreements regardingexchange procedures and

protecttion of data anddata sources

39

cals. Various government agenciesare now sharing, updating and using geospatial data for a variety of applications. This has enhancedthe efficiency and the effectivenessof the processes and streamlined thedevelopment process in a sustain-able way. Table 3 lists some of the

geospatial applications in Bahrain.

CONCLUSION

Bahrain has everything that makes ita mature geospatial user. With ageospatial governing council inplace, right mix of policies and thewillingness to share data, Bahrain is

a rising star in geospatial technologydeployments. With the current rateof geospatial growth, the day is notfar when geospatial technology willbe imbibed in all government andprivate business processes.

Aditya [email protected]

40

New Bahrain Locator

Bahrain Locator website isdeveloped and powered bythe GIS Directorate of CIO.The website provide tools forpublic and private sectors,citizens and residents tosearch for addresses, roadsand locating places of inter-ests such as restaurants,hospitals, schools, pharma-cies, shopping malls, etc. onmap.

Real Estate GISApplication

The project is intended forthe public who wish to sell orbuy property in Bahrain. Theuser gets detailed informa-tion of the location of theproperty as well as the pic-ture and video (subject toavailability) of the property onsale.

Bahrain Atlas It has information of address-es, roads, blocks and areasand provides latest satelliteimagery. The Atlas of Bahrainintegrates data of all parts ofthe country and henceserves as a point locator.

Map BrowsingSystem

MBS allows spatial browsingand gives search options likemap sheets, addresses,plots, roads and blocks.MBS allows the user to viewall the information availablewith municipality and pre-pares customised maps tomake decisions better. It inte-grates 1500+ topo files andone can view them on the fly.The user can also overlaytheir own spatial data

Land & PropertyManagementSystem

LPMS is an application formanaging the lands, projectsand properties utilised bymunicipalities. It maintainsthe latest information aboutland with greatest level ofaccuracy. It has an option ofmaking a land available forpublic investment and arepublished online throughMunicipal Investment Infor-mation System

Tracking AdvertisementApplication

All the advertisements inBahrain are tracked by themunicipality through Adver-tisement Management Sys-tem (ADMS). It also givesdetails of its dimensions,expiry along with its photo.ADMS combines spatial andnon-spatial information tomonitor the patterns in adver-tisement locations and pre-pare interpretative reports

AddressManagementSystem

This is a system to store,analyse, query and manipu-late the address data spatial-ly. Municipality issues anaddress plate to each build-ing approved, thus maintainsmost of the intricate detailssuch as owner details, num-ber of flats/floors, buildingtype, usage nature. Address-es are updated daily -dynamically from 20 differentmunicipal locations.

Corner Scale ManagementSystem

CSMS was developed tomonitor corner sale process-es and identify potential cor-ner plots for sale. CSMSprovides the surveyor variousoptions for drawing the cor-ner plot request. ThroughCSMS, one can see the sta-tus of the process, relateddocuments as well as theremarks of various depart-ments.

Address Locator Address Locator is a Web-based GIS application forthe public to explore theKingdom of Bahrain spatially.Public can view all the majorlandmarks, parcels, area,zoning information, commer-cial roads, satellite imageryand also drill down queryfrom block number to a sin-gle address.

GeographicSecurity System

GSS is a comprehensivesolution for safety and securi-ty. It is composed of a set ofsuites, each of whichincludes several modules. Acrucial element of the GSSis the unified data model thathosts a variety of tabular andspatial data. Since GSS isWeb-based, it can beaccessed from any locationbased on pre-defined accessrights.


For more information visithttp://di.leica-geosystems.com

www.leica-geosystems.com

Leica RCD30 SeriesBecause good things come in small packages

A lot can be said about the new Leica RCD30 medium format camera:

Multispectral, co-registered RGBN imagery from a single camera head

Forward and lateral mechanical motion compensation

Ruggedized and thermal stabilized lens system

Modular concept for standalone, multi-head and LiDAR configuration

Lightweight and compact design

And there are many more. But why not keep it simple?

The new Leica RCD30 is truly setting new standards in what you and

your customers can expect from medium format airborne imaging.

Oman's economy, like mostother countries in the MiddleEast region, is heavily

dependent on oil with the oil and gassector making up nearly half of thecountry's GDP and 70 percent of itsexport earnings. However, Oman'scomparatively small proven oil pool(5.5 billion barrels in 2010) runs therisk of getting exhausted by the startof the next decade and has promptedthe government to go all out for better economic diversification. Thecountry's real GDP is projected togrow at 4.7 percent in years 2010 and 2011.

The ambitious Vision 2020 planfocuses on bringing down the shareof oil in GDP to just 9 percent by 2020from 41 percent in 2009. The focuson industrial sector is evident from

the fact that its share in GDP isexpected to grow to 29 percent in2020 from just 18.5 percent in 2009.

Oman's geospatial footprint

The history of geospatial technologyin the Sultanate of Oman dates backto the late 1980s when it was intro-duced in various public organisationsand later to implement a nationalland information system.

The Supreme Committee forTown Planning was tasked withselecting the appropriate systemsand defining implementation strate-gy. National Survey Authority (NSA)was responsible for all the mapping.

Today, geospatial technology isbeing extensively used by variousorganisations. Summing up the pres-


In the backdrop of rapidly dwindling oil resources, economic diversification is at the

top of Oman's agenda. Government is looking to promote the industrial sector, which

will give geospatial industry a maturing ground in all likelihood. However, the need of

the hour is to update data and facilitate data sharing, feel industry players.

SULTANATE OF OMAN

Figure 1: Oman real GDP growth. 2011 figures are

IMF estimate (Source: Central Bank of Oman)

Figure 2: Contribution of oil & non-oil sectors to Oman

GDP (Source: Central Bank of Oman)

42

ent state of geospatial technology inthe country, Pradeep Shriyan, Opera-tions Manager at Esri Muscat says,“GIS has come a long way in the 20years that we have been in operationin Oman. Major users of geospatialtechnology are the national govern-ment, local municipalities, oil & gasindustry and utilities, be it electricity,water, wastewater or telecom.“

However, the unavailability ofdata remains a concern. "I think wecan do better but for that it is impor-tant to have reliable data. Once Mus-cat has substantial data and sharingof information becomes flexible,more creative GIS usage will come,"says Nihad Bimani, Deputy AssetSystems Manager, Haya Water.

Market stimulus

Economic diversification: The Gov-ernment of Oman is going all out inits efforts to diversify the economyand move away from the heavydependency on oil and gas sector.The Vision 2020 plan aims to raisethe contribution of the industrialsector to the country's GDP substan-tially and this is acting as a stimulusfor organisations to take up geospa-tial technology fuelling the market.

Second mover advantage: Oman hasmany foreign companies working indifferent fields that are employingtried and tested techniques toincrease production and improve thelevel of services. Petroleum compa-nies in the country are especiallybenefitting from the knowledge andskills of foreign experts. Companieslike Occidental, BP and Shell havebeen involved in large scale extrac-tion work in oil and gas sector.

Reasonably mature market:Oman has a long geospatial historyand various organisations have beenusing the technology since the early90s. Though the progress has been alittle slow than expected, most peo-ple are well aware of the tremendousbenefits the technology can bring.

Potential Verticals

Geospatial technology is being usedextensively in verticals such as infra-structure, oil and gas, utilities,defence, municipality, environmentand disaster management. Figure 3shows the results of a survey con-

ducted by Geospatial World, in whichsoftware providers, data providersand other GIS companies were askedto rate various verticals on a scale of1-10 based on their geospatialpotential in Oman.

Utilities: Utility sector in Oman is amajor user of geospatial technologyand has witnessed tremendousgrowth in the past few years. "In thelast couple of years, the maximumgrowth has been in the utility sectorbecause geospatial technology helpsthem reduce costs and provide serv-ices quickly," says Pradeep Shriyan.

Haya Wastewater looks afterestablishing the sewage system andbuilding sewage treatment plants in

Muscat. GIS is an integral compo-nent in realising the organisation’smission to make Muscat one of thebest cities in the world. "We havemade everybody here aware of theimportance of this technology. Callcentre uses GIS to locate the positionof the customer while projectsdepartment now has access to theentire database. The operations alsohave a GIS application" says NihadBimani.

The Haya Wastewater investedaround OMR 200,000 (USD 520,000)for the implementation of geospatialtechnology and plans to spend a lotmore for its future projects.

Defence: As per the Ministry ofNational Economy's budget esti-mates, the country's spending ondefence and national security in 2010touched OMR 1,615 million (USD4,199 million) and is estimated to beOMR 1,650 million (USD 4290 mil-lion) in 2011. A large portion of thismoney is being used to deploy newand improved technologies tostrengthen the country's defenceforces.

Infrastructure: Buoyed by its vision2020 plan, the Government of Omanis investing heavily to build the infra-structure required for economicdiversification. The country's newfive-year spending plan aims toinvest OMR 30 billion (USD 78 billion)in infrastructure projects.

While the construction and infra-structure sector in the country hadto bear the brunt of global economicrecession, recent announcements oflarge scale investments signal thatthe worst may be over.


Figure 3: Rating of various verticals according to their

geospatial potential (on a scale of 10)

43

Municipalities and town planning:Muscat Municipality started usinggeospatial technology in 1992 with asmall project. The GIS section in themunicipality, established in 1999, is aprolific user of geospatial technologyand spends around OMR 50,000(USD 130,000) every year in imple-menting the technology.

The Supreme Committee forTown Planning (SCTP) has beenformed by the Government of Omanwith the primary objective of prepar-ing policies and framework for carry-ing out sustainable development.The SCTP has created an enterprisegeodatabase that will act like a cen-tral repository of data and help inimplementation of various projects.

Oil and gas: Oil and gas sector isconsidered to be the Omani econo-my's cornerstone as it has continu-ously contributed over 40 percent tothe GDP during the last few years. By

employing advanced technology such as the enhanced oil recoverymethod with the help of foreign oil exploration companies, the countryhas succeeded in increasing oil production tremendously.

The country's oil and gas is con-trolled by the government with OmanOil (OO) and Petroleum DevelopmentOman (PDO) being the major produc-ers. PDO is investing heavily ingeospatial implementation andspends around USD 1.5-2 million peryear for data acquisition, systemsand upgrades.

Disaster management: Oman had toface extensive damage as a result ofcyclones Phet and Gonu in the lastfew years, which forced the govern-ment to work out ways to effectivelydeal with such threats. In 2010, itordered the commissioning of anational level committee that makes use of geographic data to

deal with natural dis-asters.

Challenges and

way ahead

Data issues: Havingaccess to timely andaccurate data is a

major roadblock for the quick uptakeof geospatial technology in Oman.Even when data is available, organi-sations having that data are reluctantto share it. Highlighting the lack ofsupport in data collection effortsfrom other organisations, KhamisNasser AlQasmi, Director GIS, Mus-cat Municipality says, "There wasvery little help from other depart-ments and authorities as they want-ed us to build the database so thatthey could use it. Nobody wants toinvest time or money but everyone islooking for readymade data."

Lack of resources: While geospatialtechnology has been in use for sev-eral years, industry players feel avoid as far as geospatial experts inthe country are concerned. The need of the hour is to train people inusing the technology in order todecrease the dependency on expats."There is a shortage of GIS expertisein Oman and it is extremely difficultto get the required skills," saysNihad Bimani.

Need for an SDI: Another reason thatis holding the country back from taking off to the next level is the lackof a spatial data infrastructure.

Underlining the significance of anSDI in making people aware of theuse of geospatial technology, SaleemAbdullah Al-Hashmi, Staff Officer 1Production, National Survey Authori-ty says, "It is extremely important tocreate awareness about geospatialdata and how it is important in vari-ous sectors. This requires creating anational geospatial policy to furtherthe vision of the government."

Vaibhav [email protected]


Table 1: List of infrastructure projects in Oman

Name of the Project


Status of the Project

Cost of project

Sohar Airport project To construct an airport terminal at Sohar with a capacity of500,000 passengers a year


OMR 27.6 million (USD71.8 million)

National railway project To build a comprehensive rail networkin the country and link it to the GCC railway

Planning phase cur-rently on. Estimated tobe completed in 2017

Al Madina A'Zarqa(Blue City)

To construct a megacity with 20 hotels,hospitals, university, schools and othermodern amenities

Expected to be com-pleted by 2020

USD 15 billion

Duqm Port and DryDock

To construct the port complex including breakwaters and quay walls

Expected to be com-pleted in 2012

USD 1.25 billion

Table 2: List of projects in Petroleum Development Oman (PDO)

Name of the Project


Status of the Project

Road hazard mapping Using GIS to map road hazards in oil fields and warndrivers in time to avoidmishaps

Project startedlast year

Mapping of field sur-veying activities

Using GIS to map and verifythe surveying activities

Ongoing

44

G E “C i l /St di Ad” PUB G ti lW ld TRIM 775 10 25 Li 6 95 9 45” Bl d 8 15” 10 65” PDF/X1

Change is constant. Access a visual record to help you make better decisions.

© 2

011

Geo

Eye.

All

Righ

ts R

eser

ved.

GeoEye® provides GIS analysts and decision makers with easy, real-time access to today’s most accurate high-resolution imagery. You can search our vast archive to compare images over multiple timeframes. Keep a visual record of change as it happens with GeoEye imagery and insight.

Elevating Insight for Better Decis ion Making

Download complimentary sample images to see for yourself. Go to www.geoeye.com/change

J U LY 2 0 0 9GEOEYE-1 .50-METER

GEOEYE-1 .50-METER F EB R U A R Y 2 0 1 1

Green Point Stadium, Cape Town, South Africa

kada

ster

Trim

ble

®®

Abu Dhabi, thelargest emirate ofthe United Arab

Emirates (UAE) andhome to the country'scapital city, is hosting aglobal summit focusedon environmental andsocietal information net-working. The Summit willconvene the world'sthought and action lead-ers in this field with abroad range of represen-tatives from government,the United Nations, pri-vate sector, educationaland research institutionsand civil society. Theevent is designed to con-verge community think-ing around the mostpressing challenges fac-ing the world today,opportunities presentedby rapid technologicaladvancements and anever more connectedworld. The Summit willalso set the stage for col-laborative action movingforward to harness thesetechnologies and net-

works to better protect,secure and sustain Plan-et Earth's resources andpeoples.

Abu Dhabi is particu-larly suited to host thisglobal meeting. In just fourdecades, the city hasevolved from a smallcoastal desert settlementto a world class city com-prising a poly-cultural andcosmopolitan populationand a diverse, globalisedeconomy with influencesand reach far beyond itssmall geographic size. AbuDhabi is one of the wealth-iest states in the world,with a per capita income atpar with Luxembourg,Norway and Qatar, but it istruly the vision and wis-dom of the late SheikhZayed bin Sultan AlNahyan, the foundingfather of the country, toinvest in people as thebasic foundation for thefuture, that has assured itsposition in the world today.

This rapid developmenthas occurred in the con-

text of an extremely ariddesert environment ofunique and sensitivedunes and plains andcoastal areas laced withwhite sand beaches, scat-tered islands, greenexpanses of biologicallyrich mangrove forests,seagrass beds and coralreefs. The people of AbuDhabi have a long and richcultural heritage directlytied to these landscapes.

The modern economyof the emirate was origi-nally built around the dis-covery and exploitation ofoil. This resource providedfuel for rapid growth. Asthe economy grew, so didthe city and its populationand the demand for water,food and other resourcesthat were in short supplylocally. In 2001, a team ofresearchers from Yale andColumbia University firstincluded UAE in their Envi-ronmental SustainabilityIndex (ESI), ranking thecountry 141 out of 142countries investigated. At

the time, only the mostgeneral data were avail-able, mostly from interna-tional sources. Many of thefactors included in theindex were based on moretemperate climates anddid not address the specialcontext of the hyper-ariddeserts of the Gulf region.Thus the results did notaccurately reflect someaspects of sustainability.The results of the studywere presented at theWorld Economic Forum inDavos, Switzerland, in avery public forum whichbrought this issue to theattention of the leadershipof the UAE.

The Abu Dhabi GlobalEnvironmental Data Initia-tive (AGEDI) was launchedunder the guidance andpatronage of His HighnessSheikh Khalifa Bin ZayedAl Nahyan at the UnitedNations World Summit forSustainable Developmentin Johannesburg in 2002.AGEDI's mission is toaddress the issue of miss-


CONFERENCE PREVIEW I Eye on Earth

Eye on Earth Summit, to be held in Abu Dhabi, UAE during December 12 - 15, willstress on pertinent issues facing environmental and societal data globally


ing or inadequate environ-mental data on emergingeconomies' efforts toachieve sustainable devel-opment. EnvironmentAgency -Abu Dhabi (EAD)was entrusted to carry for-ward the programme,focusing first on buildinglocal capacity and overtime, becoming moreinvolved in addressingissues and assisting oth-ers at the national, region-al and international levels.A close partnership withthe United Nations Envi-ronment Programme(UNEP) was forged fromthe very beginning. Thispartnership continues tilltoday.

AGEDI works withpartners from around theworld to bring 'best-impact' methods, toolsand information to an everwidening network of part-ners. AGEDI aims to workwith UNEP and others toenhance environmentaldata collection andassessment and improvecapacities for local,national, regional, andglobal environmental deci-sion making. It also worksto ensure that sustainableand resilient community

and regional planning isbased on timely and accu-rate information. AGEDI'smission also includesboosting the accessibilityof data and information,increasing national andinternational informationprocessing and exchangemechanisms and aug-menting national informa-tion handling and commu-nications capacities. AGE-DI aims to act whereverthere is a need to improveinformation collection,management and utilisa-tion as the basis for moreinformed stewardship ofour planet.

"What we want tostress is how the impor-tance of information goesdown to the grassrootsand the community," saysCathrine Armour, ProgramManager, AGEDI and Program Director, Eye onEarth Summit. "This ongo-ing commitment to closingthe data gap has alreadybrought multiple benefitsto Abu Dhabi and the widerregion."

THE EYE ON EARTH

SUMMIT

It is in this context thatAGEDI and EAD, in part-

nership with UNEP, areconvening Eye on Earth, aglobal summit devoted tothe issue of greater accessto environmental and soci-etal data that will meet inAbu Dhabi from 12 to 15December 2011.

Under the Patronage ofHH Sheikh Khalifa BinZayed Al Nahyan, Presi-dent of the UAE, the Eyeon Earth Summit willaddress these challengesby convening world lead-ers, the environmental andsocietal information net-

working movement andothers to celebrate 'best-impact' data initiativesfrom around the globe,converge on key issues toreach consensus on solu-tions to greater dataaccessibility and collabo-rate to strengthen existinginitiatives or launch newones.

The geospatial com-munity is not lacking inconferences, seminars orother events. Nor is therea dearth of initiatives. Thecommunity is making sub-

49

You can be a part of this, too - by attending Eye on Earth, submitting projects through the Partnership Marketplace, or exhibiting your ideas,technology or insights at the Eye on Earth exhibition. Visit www.eyeonearthsummit.org to register, interactwith like-minded others, or just get more information.

Join the movement

stantial progress withstandards through theOpen Geospatial Consor-tium (OGC), with commonplatform development andapplication through theGroup On Earth Observa-tions (GEO) System of Sys-tems (GEOSS), communitybuilding through the Glob-al Spatial Data Infrastruc-ture Association (GSDI)and national and regionalspatial data infrastructureinitiatives and variousshapes and sizes of col-laborative information fed-erations that have formedaround geographic placesor topics. The private sec-tor has likewise made sig-nificant advances towardsthe development of "virtualglobes" such as Esri'sArcGIS Online, GoogleEarth and Microsoft's BingMaps. In addition, theexplosion of location-aware smartphones andassociated applicationsare ramping up the num-ber and quality of volun-teered geographic infor-mation. Other volunteerefforts like Open StreetMap are adding to theextensive and increasingwealth of geospatial andother information availableonline.

The Eye on Earth Sum-mit does not aim to dupli-

cate these efforts. Rather,it will bring together, fromaround the globe, repre-sentatives of every groupthat has an impact on theway the world generates,standardises, stores,shares and analyses data.That is why Eye on Earthparticipants will comefrom many differentworlds - those of govern-ment, business, education,technology, philanthropyand all sectors of civilsociety.

To ensure a Summitthat focuses on key issues,the agenda for Eye onEarth is being developedwith the aid of a system ofSummit Governanceincluding the ExecutiveAdvisory Board, Frame-work Committee and fiveWorking Groups, repre-senting all aspects of theglobal environmental andsocial information net-working movements. Theintensive work schedule ofthese groups and the highcalibre of their over 125participants is alreadygenerating exciting newideas to be discussed atthe Summit - ideas thatmay, if supported by thewider community, becomeglobal initiatives that willhelp the world at largebecome better users ofenvironmental, geospatialand societal data.

THEMES

The Summit

will be conducted overthree and a half days. Thefirst day is themed "Mindthe Gap" and includes aplenary opening sessionand a series of five tracksto review and explore thethemes and findings of theworking groups. Membersof the working groups willbe present and accompa-nied by selected speakers,panels, lightning talks andother interactive formats.The second day provides aplatform for VIPs and vari-ous luminaries and gov-ernment and industryleaders to share their per-spective and vision. Thethird day will include aseries of parallel tracksorganised around specialcritical themes such aswater security, disastermanagement, and bluecarbon. A special sessionwill be run on Day 3 topresent and refine the EyeOn Earth Rio Declaration,a community resolutionproviding input to the Unit-ed Nations Conference onSustainable Developmentto be held in 2012 (Rio+20),marking 20 years since ahistoric deal was made atthe Earth Summit to tacklethe world's biggest envi-ronmental and develop-ment challenges. The finalday of Eye on Earth is ded-icated to highlighting sev-eral special initiatives thatwill carry the commonobjectives and aspirationsof the Summit forward in

specific and practical col-laborative activities andprogrammes.

An exhibition area willbe open to the Summitattendees and generalpublic. This includes anEye on Earth Theatre fea-turing top media relevantto the Summit's key topics,a technology showcaseand innovations forumsfeaturing the most inter-esting existing and emerg-ing technologies and cre-ative applications to situa-tions around the world. Aspecial centre stage willprovide a unique formatfor feature presentations.

The Summit will bepreceded by a UnitedNations Major Groups andStakeholders consultationon 11 December 2011.This is a full-day eventdesigned by and for thebenefit of the world's lead-ing civil society groups andwill generate input for theSummit itself.

Much of the world'sgrowing wealth of data isheld in incompatible stan-dards, 'protected' bybureaucratic complexity,restrained by lack of openaccess or ignorance of itsexistence. The need forcollaboration, informationand understanding isgreater than ever. That isthe ambition for Eye onEarth: launching a move-ment that will finally breakopen the world's treas-ure trove of data.



Connecting diverse communities

CONFERENCE REPORT I Latin America Geospatial Forum 2011

ith the objective of establish-ing a geospatial communica-tion network within the Latin

American region and raising the pro-file of the region's geospatial com-munity, Geospatial Media & Commu-nications presented the first editionof Latin America Geospatial Forum inRio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Forumbrought together over 550 profes-sionals from 32 countries to sharetheir experiences, to learn from oneanother and to debate on futuredevelopments. Brazil being one of thefastest-growing economies in theworld, the theme - Bringing GlobalPerspectives to Local Action - quitefittingly explored the relevance andimportance of geospatial technologyfor development.

NMO-Industry ExchangeForumA high-level delegation comprisingheads of national mapping organisa-tions (NMOs) from 17 Latin Americannations, along with industry repre-sentatives and pioneers of geospatial

data managementfrom around theregion, cametogether to discussdata policies, datageneration, itsusage by public andits innovative appli-cations, during thepre-conferenceNMO-IndustryExchange Forum.

During theExchange Forum,

participants resolved to find newways to increase the visibility of thebenefits of location referencedinformation; increase efforts tobuild both human and institutionalcapacity for the creation and use oflocation-referenced information;create geospatial data to facilitateaccess of the data; develop new

business models which should bedemand-driven and respond directlyto sub-national, national and inter-national priority needs; to partici-pate in United Nations Forum onGlobal Geospatial Information Man-agement in Korea and beyond andto get technical support from indus-try to strengthen the work of NMOs.

Visionary thoughts The first day of the event introducedluminaries of the global geospatialcommunity who put forth their viewsduring the inaugural session andsubsequently at the plenary and pan-el discussions. Carlos Alberto Muniz,Vice-Mayor and Municipal Secretaryof Environment of Rio de Janeiroalongwith Dr. Eduardo PereiraNunes, President, IBGE and RicardoHenriques, President, InstitutoPereira Passos graced the inauguralsession.Steven W. Berglund, President and

Chief, Executive Officer, Trimble Nav-igation, USA opined that to surviveand prosper, organisations will notonly need to formulate effectivegrowth strategies but also implementand execute them as well on a locallevel. Greg Bentley, Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Bentley Systems, USA delib-erated upon "Semantic City" in whichinformation modelling enhancesinfrastructure performance, forimproved quality of life. Denis SantAnna Barros, Deputy Secretary, Sec-retary of Planning and StrategicInvestments - SPI, Ministry of Plan-ning Budget and Management, Brazilasserted that geospatial serves as a

W


key tool to formulate plans and delivergoods and services in an efficientmanner.

Ola Rollén, President and CEO,Hexagon, Sweden was of the viewthat industry is raising its own pro-file and it can contribute to improvethe conditions for many in the yearsto come. According to Santiago Bor-rero, Secretary General Pan-Ameri-can Institute of Geography and His-tory, Mexico, availability of high-quality data at the supranational lev-el is still wanting in the region.Steven Hagan, Vice President Devel-

opment of Technologies Server, Oracle, USA said that every businessapplication is location-enabled, not

just GIS applications Luiz PauloSouto Fortes, Director of Geo-sciences, IBGE, Brazil opined thattechnological advances haveincreased the availability of location-based information, which contributedecisively to the formulation of pub-lic policies, given its ability to inte-grate quantitative and qualitativeinformation from various sectors.Guilherme Brechbuhler De Pinho,Chief Executive Officer, Fototerra,Brazil put forth that Brazilian econ-omy has to adopt geospatial tech-nology to see development onground. H. John Oechsle, ExecutiveVice President, Strategy & Product,DigitalGlobe, USA opined that crowdsourcing has become an integralpart of creating maps. Geoff Zeiss,Director, Utility Industry Program,Autodesk, Canada informed that akey smart grid technology in theregion will be distribution automa-tion.

Focussed deliberationsAs applications get increasingly diver-

gent, it is becoming necessary tobring these divergent communitiestogether, provide a common platformand connect them to the expertsworking in the fields through thecommon thread of geospatial tech-nologies. LAGF enabled this throughthe symposia and seminars on min-ing, exploration, utilities, agriculture,environment, GNSS, 3D modelling andphotogrammetry. The conference suc-cessfully helped in bringing togetherand connecting the staggered effortsof individual geospatial communitiesin different countries of the continent.

ExhibitionThe exhibition at the Forum echoedthe fact that geospatial has come along way from its status of a techno-logical tool to a way of life. All majornational and international Geospatialfirms and user agencies participatedin the exhibition, each showcasing itsproducts and services. The exhibitingserved as a new begining towardsbuilding relationships and developing'Geospatial Culture.'

Geospatial Excellence Awards

Winner Category

VALE, Brazil Enterprise GIS

Petrobras, Brazil Exploration & Production

Sistema Nacional de Coordinación de Información Territorial, Republic of Chile

Web GIS

Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica, Brazil

Development of the territorial base

CAF banco de desarrollo de América Latina, Venezuela Regional SDI

Oi - Telemar Norte Leste, Brazil Business intelligence

Instituto Geográfico Agustin Codazi, Colombia Cadastre and land management

Instituto Geografico Militar, Republic of Chile Disaster Management

Comision Nacional de Actividades Espaciales, Argentina GNSS

Diretoria de Serviço Geográfico do Exército, Brazil Surveying and mapping

Lifetime Achievement Award: Greg Bentley In recognition of Bentley's vision, leadership, personal commitment and outstanding contributionsto geospatial communities around the world Greg Bentley, CEO of Bentley Systems, was hon-oured with Lifetime Achievement Award during the Latin American Geospatial Forum in Rio deJaneiro, Brazil.

SPONSORSPrincipal Sponsors: DigitalGlobe, Trimble

Gold Sponsors: Autodesk, AÇÃO Informática,HexagonSilver Sponsors: AMS Kepler, Bentley Systems,Microsoft Vexcel, Fototerra

Co-Sponsors: PCI Geomatics, PC-IDEA, OGC,Crectealc Brazil Campus, SNIT (Chile), GITA

Government Sponsoors: Agência EspacialBrasileira (AEB) and Diretoria de Serviço Geográfico do Exército (DSG)

Lanyard Sponsor: Santiago & Cintra Consultoria

Notepad Sponsor: Novaterra

Symposia/Seminar Partners: VALE, Companhiade Pesquisa de Recursos Mineirais (CPRM),Departamento Nacional de Produção Mineral(DNPM), Centro de Información de RecursosNaturales (CIREN), Embrapa Solos, EmbrapaSatellite, Special Secretariat Cup 2014 and 2016

Co-organisers : Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica (IBGE) and Instituto Pereira Passos (IPP)

Together, ERDAS and Intergraph

leverage joint strengths

to drive geospatial innovation

www.intergraph.com www.erdas.com

THE 3D GIS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE – EXPERIENCE THE POWER OF BENTLEY MAPGIS is going 3D and the benefits are enormous. With Bentley Map, you’ll gain the additional advantage of a GIS that’s both intrinsically 3D and optimized for the rigorous demands of sustain-ing infrastructure. Bentley Map supports 3D objects in Oracle Spatial natively, has smart 3D object editing tools, and executes advanced 3D spatial analyses as well as standard 2D routines.

Bentley Map is the choice of infrastructure professionals around the globe. It has all the power of MicroStation to make workflows efficient, and includes innovative and comprehensive map finish-ing functions as well as advanced parcel management functionality.

Featuring an extended API, the latest version of Bentley Map is optimized for developers and enterprise deployments alike. It comes in three editions to meet a range of user needs – from light editing and review, to 2D and 3D spatial information creation and analysis, to advanced raster image management and long transactions using Oracle Spatial.

To find out how Bentley Map is advancing GIS for infrastructure, visit www.Bentley.com/Map/GW or call +91-11-4902 1100.

© 2011 Bentley Systems, Incorporated. Bentley, the “B” Bentley logo, Bentley Map, and MicroStation are either registered or unregistered trademarks or service marks of Bentley Systems, Incorporated or one of its direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiaries. Other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.

www.Bentley.com/Map/GW

ADVANCING GIS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE

CHECK OUT THE NEWBENTLEY MAP EDITIONS

Data courtesy City of Quebec

23-27 april 2012 ...p r i c e: inr 150 / us$ 15 subscriber’s copy. not for sale your geospatial...

Documents