ASM
Brunei's Spatial Data Infrastructure
Brunei's surveyor general, Awg Hj Mohd Jamil Hj Mohd Ali, launched the Brunei Spatial Data Infrastructure at a ceremony organised by the Department of Survey in Brunei Darussalam on 23 April.
The primary contractor for the project was Selective Powertech Consulting of Brunei Darussalam, which has a specialisation in information and communications technology consultation and implementation for e-government.
The project team and major subcontractors include Maicons Technology Sdn. Bhd. (Malaysia), e-commerce and finance specialists, Dalplus Technologies (Brunei Darussalam) and GNSS solutions provider, Global-Trak Systems Sdn Bhd (Brunei Darussalam).
The main components of the system are framework data (vector, raster and grid), products, metadata, nsdi catalogue, data warehouse and online business applications.
The project uses a spatial database and web mapping technology supplied by Caris software in New Brunswick, Canada.
The primary proponents of the project are the Ministry of Development Departments of Survey, Land and Town & Country Planning.
Spatial data infrastuctures are generally taken to comprise of three elements: a number of datasets, a means by which those datasets can be discovered and used over the internet, and custodianship arrangements to support their ongoing maintenance.
The ambit of the BSDI will include datasets on elevation, tranasport systems and water bodies.
Plans for the BSDI go back at least to November 2005, when the minister for development, Pehin Dato Paduka Awang Abdullah, told a conference (see the feature article on Position Magazine website ) that the government would leapfrog years of development with the implementation of a modern spatial data infrastructure. He said the BSDI would be a key part of the government's information strategy and key to the implementation of e-government in the country.
