GIS Helps Managing Population and Economic Growth - Minister

Doha , February 04 (QNA) - HE the Minister of Municipality and Urban Planning in the State of Qatar Sheikh Abdul Rahman bin Khalifa bin Abdul Aziz Al Thani stressed Monday that the State of Qatar has a long history in using Geographic Information System (GIS), HE the Minister added that the wise leadership of Qatar was looking for more ways to use GIS for the country's development. This came in a speech delivered by the Ministry's Assistant Undersecretary for Planning Ali Abdullah Al Abdullah Al Wakeel on behalf of HE the Minister, during the Second High Level Forum on Global Geospatial Information Management in Doha. HE the Minister of Municipality and Urban Planning said that choosing Qatar to host the conference reflects the need to discuss the management of global geospatial information on an international level. One of the biggest factors of the systems success in Qatar, HE the Minister said is the set of legislations that determine the mandate of GIS. HE the Minister also referred to the Comprehensive Urban Plan for the State of Qatar, saying that it is part of Qatar National Vision 2030. The project is a work plan run by to direct urban growth in the next 20 years. The project could help the State of Qatar manage population growth and achieve more economic growth, HE the Minister said. HE the Minister said that the project of unified building code is one of the examples of the important projects carried out by the ministry. The project, which links the building's number with its geographic location using GIS, helps the state obtain important infra-structure information, HE the Minister noted. HE the Minister of Municipality said that, despite the success, a lot of challenges still remain; most importantly maintaining the high level of cooperation between the state's ministries, particularly the efficient exchange of information. HE the Minister expressed hope that the conference would help in allowing everyone to share their experience in the field of Management of Global Geospatial Information for the general benefit . (QNA)