KNSDI – Geospatial Foundation for Kuwait Vision 2035
CLIENT: The Central Agency for Information and Technology (CAIT)
LOCATION: Kuwait
STARTING YEAR: 2019
Kuwait was one of the earliest pioneers of automated mapping starting in the early 1980’s. The country’s leaders have now defined a new and ambitious horizon – the Kuwait Vision 2035 that is looking to transform Kuwait into a regional financial and commercial hub for the Northern Gulf, with technology playing a key role in this bold initiative.
The State of Kuwait has long recognized the importance of GIS technology in supporting its long term development goals. GIS has been a central tool for the development of the last two spatial master plans and most agencies have adopted the technology and using it for everything from national basemapping, to utility management, to general facility and wayfinding applications for public use. A Kuwait National GIS Coordinating and Steering Committee (NGISCSC) was formed and is now undertaking the development of the Kuwait National Spatial Data Infrastructure (KNSDI), in coordination with the Central Agency for Information Technology (CAIT). This initiative involves a collaborative effort across all sectors of Kuwait Government to coordinate and share critical geographic information that is needed in common, while giving special attention to the information that can help to advance the aspirations of Vision 2035. KNSDI is a comprehensive framework that will cover establishing technology, policies, standards, human resources, and related activities to acquire, process, distribute, use, maintain and preserve spatial data.
GPC Global Information Solutions (GPC-GIS) was entrusted to consult the Government of Kuwait for the Master Planning of the KNSDI, involving nearly 15 founding stakeholder entities. Workshops at Executive and Management levels were periodically conducted to raise awareness of the Program and ensure successful engagement of the founding ministries and other stakeholders. Subsequent to assessing the existing situation and analyzing the requirements, GPC developed the Program Strategy, Design, and Implementation Plan; thus, concluding the project first stage which is characterized by a dedicated Capacity Building and Training track. In the second stage, GPC shall support the process of initiating the implementation of the KNSDI.