Medhat Kamal Al-Din, head of the Egyptian General Survey Authority (GSA), is the final authority for all official maps in the country. The GSA produces maps for the use of investors, government departments and legal authorities — but the tradition he epitomises goes back to ancient times. According to Kamal Al-Din, land surveying started with the ancient Egyptians. “We have found evidence, in the form of symbols and drawings on temple walls, showing how they took measurements using tapes and rods,” he said. Modern practices started in 1890 with the creation of a special surveying department affiliated to the Ministry of Public Works and then to the Ministry of Finance. Egypt's first detailed maps, produced in 1905, were prepared by the department. Following the 1952 Revolution, the department turned into an independent agency, but by the early 1960s it was attached once more to the Ministry of Public Works. “During the Israeli occupation of Sinai, the department was attached to the Ministry of Defence. Then it was taken over by the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation,” Kamal Al-Din said. In 2001, the GSA became an independent authority, not a service department as it was in the past. “This means that it has to generate its own funding,” the GSA chief said. “Our work mirrors realities on the ground,” he added, saying that his agency played a vital role in economic endeavours in the country. “The more security there is, the more economic activity there is and the more work we have to do,” he said. The GSA is in charge of all official maps related to land registration, real estate locations, and the borders of administrative and economic zones. “All these functions must be carried out by the GSA,” which produces maps on different scales related to topography, urban areas, agricultural land, and so on. The authority is also in charge of maintaining historical maps and producing educational ones. The drawing up of new governorate borders, due to be completed in the next six months, is one of many tasks keeping the GSA busy these days. Other tasks involve the digging of a new waterway along the Suez Canal, and the building of 3,000 km of new roads. Planners rely heavily on the GSA in their work. In every government agency, plans are drawn up in cooperation with the Ministry of Planning. Before the government starts allocating land for new projects, the GSA gets involved, deciding which land should be set aside, which belongs to the state, and which must be bought or compulsorily purchased. If land is compulsorily purchased, compensation is paid to its previous owners. In the past, it could take two or more years for compensation to be paid, but President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi has now ordered that compensation should be paid within six months. “In the case of the Suez Canal, our role was to redraw the boundaries of the old Canal, establish the boundaries of the adjacent area, and specify the locations allotted to the contractors,” Kamal Al-Din said. When it comes to delineating governorate borders, the GSA tries to use natural topographical features as markers. Waterways and natural barriers are a bonus to cartographers. But if no such barriers exist, as in the case of a flat desert, the GSA has to create artificial markers. “As soon as the borders are delineated in cooperation with the planning authorities, the GSA sets up joint committees with the governorates in order to draw the borders clearly and avoid any confusion. If there are no natural barriers, as is the case for desert land, we create artificial barriers to mark the borders.” The GSA sees its job as one of protecting public and private property. “Our task is to protect the property of the public and that of the state. We examine different cases and decide if there has been any violation,” Kamal Al-Din said. The GSA is not responsible for rectifying violations, however. “That is a matter for the courts to address.” Over the years, new technology has added to the arsenal of equipment surveyors can use. What was once accomplished by tapes and sticks is now performed with infra-red reflectors, GPS receivers, 3D scanners, digital levels and surveying software. The GSA has established 40 stations across the country to ensure the use of the most up-to-date surveying techniques. When most engineering firms switched to GPS surveying, Egypt's official mapping service had to do the same. The GSA is now about to launch a Spatial Information Centre (SIC) that will be able to offer multi-layered maps for purposes of planning and coordination among private and public projects. It will be the first of its kind in Africa and the Arab world. The SIC will provide businesses and government with sophisticated electronic maps on which sectors and projects can be sketched out on different layers. With each layer of the map allocated to a different ministry, planners will be able to minimise duplication among projects. “This is a massive project, and the GSA is working on it in close cooperation with the planning and communication ministries,” Kamal Al-Din said. The multi-layered spatial mappings will also help planners know where to start, making it easy for them to “follow the right order in, for example, laying the infrastructure before constructing the buildings.” To avoid duplication and waste, the government is currently following a round-table model, in which officials from various ministries compare notes before working on any particular project. “This is a system that President Al-Sisi has introduced. It involves having officials and key managers sit together and communicate with each other. In the past, each one used to work alone, which could lead to overlapping,” Kamal Al-Din commented. According to Kamal Al-Din, the new system will improve government efficiency. “People may not feel the improvement immediately, because we are reforming a whole system of entangled duties that has existed for 40 years or so,” he said. But the change will be felt over time. The GSA is streamlining its services, making them as affordable as possible, its chief said. “In the past, when an agency asked the GSA to produce a map, it would charge it for the cost of the map-making as well as the printing. Then another agency would ask for the same map and would be charged the same. But now the cost of making the map is charged only once to the first applicant. Latter applicants pay only for the printing,” he said. “Historical maps in GSA custody are essential for establishing legal rights,” Kamal Al-Din said. “These records are a treasure of the state as they also define the country's borders.” According to the GSA chief, Egypt's ownership of Halayeb and Shalatin on its southern borders is beyond doubt. “We are fully prepared for any issues related to border areas such as Halayeb and Shalatin. We have the original maps which set the 22nd parallel as the Egyptian-Sudanese border,” he added. Old maps were also crucial in establishing Egypt's rights in Taba. Egypt's tradition of mapping, dating back to colonial times, is outstanding, according to the GSA chief. “There is a plaque of honour at the GSA that has the names of some of the British officials who used to work for the surveying agency,” he commented. Today, he said, the agency's status as an economic authority, rather than a government service provider, is in need of revision. “The main problem since we became an economic authority has been for us to find suitable resources. Our revenues fall short of the expense of making maps and paying salaries,” he said. Since 2011, salaries in the GSA have doubled, but revenues have lagged behind. “Every month, we spend nearly half our budget on salaries,” Kamal Al-Din said, adding that the Ministry of Finance had turned down a request by the authority to change its status back to a government department. “We asked to go back to being a service agency as in the past, but the idea didn't receive the backing of the Ministry of Finance.”
