On the sidelines of a workshop to apply for "DEGURBA" degree The regional planning sector head reviews Egypt's information infrastructure system

Dr. Heba Mogheeb, Head of the Regional Planning Sector at the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, reviewed the Information Infrastructure System in Egypt. This was during a workshop on "Applying the DEGURBA Degree Approach to Producing Comparable Data in Egypt."

The workshop was held by the Ministry of Planning in cooperation with the United Nations Human Settlements Program, which was inaugurated by Dr. Mona Essam, Assistant Minister of Planning and Economic Development for Sustainable Development Affairs, in the presence of Dr. Mohamed Maghribi, Head of the Human Development Sector.

During the workshop, Dr. Heba Mogheeb referred to the role of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development in developing the methodology and mechanisms used in the planning process in general, intending to maximize public investment efficiency and raise resource allocation efficiency.

Mogheeb drew attention to the challenges that faced the development process in Egypt, including the challenge of data availability, its quality, and methods of using it, in addition to the challenge of infrastructure, stressing that moving to the New Administrative Capital (NAC) is one of the main solutions because there is a supportive infrastructure.

She also discussed the challenge of fostering confidence in electronic transactions. She also referred to the efforts made to spread and market the services of these transactions.

She further explained that the Ministry of Planning had followed a policy of continuous training to address the challenge of technological expertise and weak human resources.

Mogheeb highlighted the integrated information infrastructure system for regional planning in Egypt. This is a unified system used by all government agencies. The project was implemented in cooperation between the Ministry and the Military Survey Department, using the latest technological means and aerial photography.

The project provided unified base maps for the country, in addition to providing an integrated government database on this system. This database includes all spatial variables data reports, national project follow-up reports, and spatial analyses.

Mogheeb confirmed that the system relies on the latest satellite technology in the world. The system has provided electronic accounts for the satellite imaging system to 70 government agencies and the governorates of the Republic. These accounts have been provided for use in many sectoral applications in the country.

Dr. Heba Mogheeb indicated that during the project, 26 spatial variable units were developed in the offices of all governorates. In addition, (292) sub-spatial variable centers were set within the governorates at the level of the Republic, and 230 tablets were provided to contribute to field follow-up.

A set of applications related to the system was also used in following up the investment plan, a decent life project, and sectoral projects such as agriculture and energy, crisis management, mineral wealth projects, roads and bridges, and new urban communities, according to Mogheeb.

Mogheeb referred to one of the significant applications implemented by the Ministry in cooperation with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), which is the Rapid pro-social communication system, which is used in birth and death registration services and vaccination services.