Racing against the incoming wet season, COWI's airborne photographers have less than two months to map an area of 275,000 square kilometres and keep an EU aid project on track. To accomplish the feat, it is necessary to fly at a height of 8900 metres (29,200 ft), a record for a COWI project.The mapping project is a necessary part of the Namibian Government's Rural Poverty Reduction Programme, which is being funded by EU. The programme aims to develop the outlying regions of the country through a wide variety of activities, for example by establishing better infrastructure and by creation of cadastral and land registration databases. As a base for such activities, accurate and updated maps are essential.
With the wet season approaching, the mapping must be completed as quickly as possible to avoid delays to the Reduction Programme's progress. Flying so high allows aerial survey cameras to capture larger areas of data and thus speed up the process.We're mapping an area more than six times the size of Denmark and we have probably not more than six to seven weeks before the rains start and stop us photographing. This is the largest mapping project COWI has undertaken in such a short timeframe.
Republic of Namibia, National Planning Commission Secretariat - Rural Poverty Reduction Programme (RPRP), funded by the EU
Production of accurate and reliable ortophotos, which will be the base for improving the outlying regions by creation of better infrastructure and cadastral and land registration databases
Acquisition of aerial photography for 275.000 km2 of Northern Namibia, followed by production of ortophotos with a resolution better than 1 meter
2007 - 2008