90% of “Unified Building Code” project is now complete

Dr. Mohamed Abdul Wahab Hamouda, Head of Planning and Projects Department, Mr. Mohamed Ali Al Mori, planning and projects specialist, and Mr. Amer Mohamed Al Hadidi, fourth geographic information systems supervisor at the Center for Geographic Information Systems (GIS), affirmed that about 90% of the project of installing new codes for houses, buildings and facilities known as the Unified Code is now complete.

Officers of the center affiliated to Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning stated in an interview with “Alarab” that “by ending the installation of about 85,000 signs all over the State, the coding project and its benefits are thus about to achieve most of its desired objectives, through providing identification code to every building and facility in the State, making it accessible for providing the different services.

The center’s officers stated that General Postal Corporation (Q-Post) is carrying out an experimental phase to deliver mail to homes at both Qatifa and Hilal areas, and the center announced that it would launch a series of new services to the public very soon, most pointedly, Qatar geographic information systems portal and telephone application to access the State’s different areas under the name “Guide”.

As per the organizational structure of Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning, the Center for GIS prepares the State’s digital topographic databases and carries out geographic information systems projects and updates them regularly to make a live and updated digital database continuously and make it available around the clock to all government bodies in the State. What are your most considerable efforts to achieve these objectives?

The Center for GIS was established in 1990, and ever since Qatar stepped important paces for the sake of applying and using geographic information systems all over the State, thanks to continuous and commendable support provide to the Center by all officers of the Ministry, ahead of them H.E Sheikh Abdul Rahman bin Khalifa Al Thani, Minister of Municipality and Urban Planning.

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The Center undertakes the responsibility of applying geographic information systems all over the State in coordination with relevant government bodies, and serves the government bodies requirements in a balances and independent way through setting the standards and conditions of integrated application all over the Sate; e.g. databases, software and networks, and study users’ needs, information guide and other integration-related elements, in full coordination with all government bodies operating in this field.

Additionally, the Center prepares and updates the main topographic database which forms a principal reference to all authorities and bodies, and prepares and updates the national digital map program, including digital aerial photos, digital altitude form, digital maps, satellite photos and location identification services, oblique digital aerial photography and 3D stereoscopic digital photography of Doha city.

All this information are available on a 24/7 basis with no interruption through the national geographic information systems network managed by the Center and connected to over 65 government bodies and authorities that apply the geographic information systems in their day-to-day works, a matter which increases the importance of coordination among the bodies that apply geographic information systems all over the State that is achieved through multiple mechanisms; foremost of which is the holding of periodic meeting of geographic information systems coordinators and government bodies’ representatives, which is being held on a regular and uninterrupted basis for over twenty years at the Center for GIS and under its supervision.

Qatar’s national Geographic Information Systems Network (abbrev. GISnet) is considered one of the largest government networks currently existing in the region, through which all geographic information systems databases are shared uninterruptedly around the clock, and it is update on a permanent and continuous basis, whether in respect of the information of Center for GIS or other government bodies. Furthermore, the center also provides through such network all licenses of geographic information systems software to all government bodies connected to the network, which fall within the duties assigned to the center.

This mechanism related to applying the geographic information systems to all bodies and organization in the State is sui generis, which goes unparalleled all over the world and exists only in the State of Qatar, and we have been honored with several international awards and praise on multiple occasions worldwide thanks to this level achieved by the application of geographic information systems in Qatar.

source: Al Arab Newspaper