By Kuzeeko Tjitemisa
WINDHOEK- The Minister of Lands and Resettlement, Alpheus !Naruseb, this week announced new aerial imagery and ortho-photographs, covering three hundred and twenty thousand square kilometres of central Namibia.
COWI A/S a Danish firm together with a Namibian firm Shanyengana and Associates Land Surveyors was awarded the contract for the project at the cost of N$ 19.6 million financed totally by the Namibian Government.
Speaking at the handing over of the project for the Acquisition, Processing and Development of Ortho-photographs of Central Namibia, !Naruseb said to be in line with the strategic objective the ministry has developed an implementation schedule, dividing the country into 3 blocks, namely the Northern, Central, and Southern Namibia of which aerial photographs acquisition and topographic map revisions are to be done.
“The main purpose is to avail information to users of different spatial applications which include engineering and planning, land registration, resettlement and agricultural development among others,” he said.
!Naruseb said that the acquired aerial photographs and development ortho-photographs will also be used in mapping Namibia and in the identification of natural resources to improve its management and sustainable utilisation.
He said updating National Fundamental Geospatial Datasets has been and remains a priority area on the ministry’s development budget since it provides a continuous up-to-date datasets to be used in all facets of development of the country.
“In the spirit of developing Namibia, as a government, we remain committed to providing up-to-date Geospatial information tools to the Geo-Spatial Users,” he added.
The minster also used the opportunity to inform the media of the commencement of the revision of topo-graphic maps of some parts of the country using the newly acquired ortho-photographs of Namibia.
“This method of revision provides accurate and reliable datasets which stores data that can be used by different stakeholders, “he said, adding that the data depicts the current status of development infrastructure as well as natural features of Namibia. According to the minister the map revision exercise covers the Omaheke region.
He said the project started in January 2014 and is expected to run for 16 months. The other project is the revision of the 1 in 1 million Administrative Map of Namibia.
“This map displays political boundaries including farms, registration divisions and magisterial district’s boundaries in addition to some major towns, roads, and water bodies,” he said.
He said the revised map would show the new boundaries of all the regions and constituency boundaries as approved by President Hifikepunye Pohamba at the end of the Namibian Delimitation Commission.
ktjitemisa@newera.com.na