MODERNIZING EGYPT’S LAND INFORMATION SYSTEM 
Mona El Kady, Ph. D. 
Project Director, IMS Surveying and Mapping Project 
Director, Survey Research Institute, Water Research Center 
Ministry of Public Works and Water Resources, Cairo, Egypt 
Francis L. Hanigan, Ph. D. 
Vice President, Geonex International 
Team Leader, IMS Surveying and Mapping Project 
St. Petersburg, Florida 33731-1621 
ISPRS Commission: VI 
ABSTRACT: 
Among the many problems faced by developing countries is the maintenance of a current, accurate and complete land information system. 
The integration of digital surveying and mapping with information systems technology offers developing nations a method for preparing 
and maintaining a comprehensive land information system. However, the effort and skill required to use these new technologies is widely 
misunderstood and the cost is frequently underestimated. 
This paper details the approach that Geonex International’s Technical Assistance Team has adopted in assisting the Egyptian Survey 
Authority (ESA) moveits land information system from the 19th to the 21st century. Discussed are: the composition, equipping and training 
of cadastral survey crews; the automation of existing land registers; the construction of digital basemaps and cadastral maps; and the 
development of an integrated Land Information System covering agricultural lands for ESA . 
The experiences related in this paper are based on 30 months of day-to-day interaction among the members of Geonex’s TA staff and their 
ESA counterparts. The lessons learned are pragmatic, practical and transferable to other developing countries faced with the requirement 
to modernize their land records system. The project is funded by a $28.5 million grant from USAID to the Government of Egypt's Ministry 
of Public Works and Water Resources for the modernization of the Egyptian Survey Authority. 
KEY WORDS: Land Applications, System Design, Integrated System, Survey, Cadastral, Mapping, Developing Country. 
INTRODUCTION maps and land register information are not automated, the pri- 
mary focus of the LIS pilot has been the development of tech- 
The creation and maintenance of an accurate and current inven- niques for automating the collection, compilation and presenta- 
tory of land, as well as the maintenance of a record of its use and tion of cadastral information. A set of standard tools for data 
ownership is a principal function of government. In its capacity as analysis is also included. ESA’s LIS consists of four discrete but 
the national surveying and mapping agency of Egypt, The Egyp- related modules. They are: 
tian Survey Authority (ESA) has been tasked to produce and 
maintain basemaps upon which the nationalland inventory can be The Map Production Module. This module automates the produc- 
depicted. The Authority has also been assigned responsibility for tion of 1:2,5000 scale topographic maps and 1:1,000 scale town 
conducting the detailed cadastral surveys required to accurately plans. The data items maintained within this cartographic data- 
map land ownership and administrative and political boundaries. base are those depicting the topographic and cultural features 
appropriate to the scale of the maps being produced. These 
As an adjunct to its mapping responsibilities, ESA is charged with features are normally collected using photogrammetric tech- 
collecting selected items of information describing land owner- niques. Where topographic and cultural features cannot be col- 
shipand use. Inthis capacity, ESA serves asa data collection agent lected using photogrammetric techniques, they are collected 
for both the Ministry of Justice (land registration) and the Tax using electronic surveying techniques. 
Office (land use and area calculation). 
The Cadastral Overlay Production Module. This module auto- 
The rapid growth ofthe Egyptian population and the concomitant mates the production of the information needed to produce the 
migration of large numbers of people makes it impractical, if not cadastral layer for ESA’s 1:2,500 scale cadastral map series. The 
impossible, for ESA to develop and maintain the national cadaster data items maintained within this module are those needed to 
using its tried and true manual techniques. As a result ESA dep ul : uq : 2 
; a epictparcel, administrative and political boundaries on the 1:2,500 
requested and received a grant from USAID for modernizing its map series. These data are collected in the field using Total 
surveyin . . . ; . . 
> ses and Dune Rs en SIS Te HR ferm Stations equipped with magnetic data collectors to permit auto- 
sub-projects within the Surveying and Mapping Component of mated downloading of survey data for subsequent processing. 
the greater Irrigation Management Systems (IMS) Project is one : ; 
designed to explore the feasibility and practicality of establishing The Land Records Production Module. This module automates the 
an automated Land Information System (LIS) for the Authority. production ofthe many forms used by ESA to collect, compile and 
: distribute the information needed to produce the Siguel El Aine. 
These data items are collected by culling existing records and, 
CONCEPTUAL DESIGN where necessary, by interviewing land owners. They are main- 
: ; tained in a relational database management system for easy 
Because ESA’s current procedures for the production of cadastral expansion and modification as the need arises. This standalone 
190