Getmapping in partnership with Geosense, ESRI South Africa and Precision Surveys has recently completed a 500 sq km aerial survey of Maputo and its environs including the islands Xefina and Inhaca.  The survey was commissioned by the Municipal Council of Maputo to create a new base map for the city’s new geographic and management information systems.

Maputo is a port on the Indian Ocean, the capital and largest city of Mozambique. A thriving manufacturing and export centre, Maputo’s infrastructure is under considerable pressure from rapid population growth fuelled by internal migration from traditional rural farming areas. With existing geographic maps and land use rights boundaries outdated, the Council determined that they needed to renew its systems and mapping base in  order to improve land management, control of infrastructure development, tax administration and use of natural resources in the region.

The technical specifications for this survey were very stringent as it will form the base map for Maputo’s new Geographic and Land Management Information Systems from which new maps and elevation models can be created. The high level of accuracy required demanded the creation of a temporary 5km grid of ground control points throughout the survey area, quite a task in the busy and congested streets of Maputo. Five GPS ground base stations were also used. The main areas of land were flown in June 2010 using a Vexcel UltraCam D at a GSD (Ground Sampled Distance) of 5cm with the remainder flown at 10cm.

“This has been a very exciting project for us to be involved in and the resulting digital aerial photography is exceptional,” said Matt Murphy, Managing Director of Geosense South Africa. This will provide a very good back drop for the city’s new GIS. The ortho photos provide stunning detail when viewed in a 3D stereo environment, perfect for the second stage of the project which will involve detailed feature extraction to generate accurate vector and cartographic maps of the city.