Lagos digital mapping, GIS project gulp N2.8bn
Dachi Maduako, Lagos
Governor Babatunde Fashola,
Lagos State
After 40 years
when the map of
Lagos was last done, the State has made a bold declaration of its presence among the survey and mapping conscious states of the federation when it drew the stakeholders out for a meeting to discuss the state of surveying in the State and its new efforts to introduce the state of the art technology in digital mapping and Geographic Information System (GIS).
The Stakeholders meeting, held at the seat of Government at Alausa, Ikeja, secretariat of the state, attracted who is who in surveying in the state as well as other members of the public.
Tribune Property learnt that though international donour agencies, including the World Bank and the Department of International Development are interested in the project, the State Government had gone ahead by doling out N2.8 billion for the scheme which is all embracing in nature as it will not only cover Lagos metropolis but will cover seven kilometers into Ogun State and another four kilometers of rural Ogun state communities. Lagos is going to cover through the GIS, all the Mega city area but would leave the mapping of the areas in Ogun territory to be mapped by Ogun State.
Speaking at the occasion, Governor Raji Fashola, said that his administration was determined to create a mapping product to be used for the sustainable development of the State which has assumed the mega city status with a population of 18 million people and is growing on a daily basis.
“This objective will be achieved by providing comprehensive spatial information using the latest and best available mapping technology, and fostering consensus on key issues and actions, which will lead to the development of innovative and proactive public policies,” he said.
The Governor stated that to ensure that the State got it right, the government sought for technical expertise in surveying, mapping and GIS that could collaborate with the State in developing their knowledge capital and generate state of the art digital maps. This led to the engagement of consultants after a rigorous bidding and selection process that followed due process and transparency.
Though the State Digital Mapping/Enterprise GIS is broken in seven modules, four contractors were engaged by the government to handle the project.
The seven components include: the Geodetic Control and Digital Aerial Photo Acquisition, Determination of Geoid Model and Establishment of Continuous Operating Reference Station (CORS) and Orthophoto, Contour lines and Digital (vector) Mapping.
Others are the GIS Datatbase and Enterprise GIS, Bathymetry Survey of Lagos Lagoons and Ceeks, Supply of Equipment and Training and Public Enlightenment and Education.
The Governor stated the importance of the stakeholders’ forum, which he said was an innovation of his administration to build the human capacity through dialogue with the communities across the state in an attempt to address the shortage of highly skilled workers to achieve the desired result in transforming Lagos to a mega city of their dreams.
“The innovation policy framework adopted by our administration for the development of Lagos State calls for the generation and sharing of information with organized private sector, developing skilled and knowledgeable workers, support for commercialization, including business and market development assistance,” the Governor said.
Governor Fashola stated the resolve of his government to multiply databases through the scheme, which he said would be seamlessly integrated into true enterprise solution. He pointed out that consultants with extensive domain knowledge in government operations and requirements especially in land development, registration, surveying, mapping, economic development, and utility/infrastructure management and maintenance have been retained to adapt modern technologies that would serve the State better.
The scales of the mapping products to roll out of the project would be of 1:1500 for metropolitan Lagos and 1:1,000 for the rural areas; Orthophoto will be 1:2,000, Contour lines will come out on 1:1500 and 1:1,000.
When fully operational the products would be used for environmental monitoring, engineering and construction, real estate development, flood mapping, telecommunication planning, navigation, physical planning and transportation planning.
Earlier, the commissioner for Commissioner for Science and Technology, Dr. Kadiri Hamzat stated that when completed, the digital mapping and the GIS would ensure that surveying and other mapping related issues in the state would be modern and comparable to what obtains in other parts of the developed world.
In a chat with Tribune Property, the Surveyor General of the State, Mr. M.A.O. Durowoju commended the Governor and the State Executive Council for the supoort given to the project and the funding, which he said was wholly financed by the State.
He stated that the project has a completion period of 18 months.
According to Durowoju, the 40 year old map in use in the State is obsolete and is no longer very useful in planning now. This he pointed out is the reason why planning is suffering in the State now.
He noted that earlier attempts by the State had suffered set-backs and even abandoned midway. He expressed joy that the project when completed would help for planning, provision of information on development and used to plan for the future.
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