By Cornelius Kadir Edison
KUCHING, 8 Jan: The installation of 800 close circuit cameras (CCTV) across 200 locations within Greater Kuching Smart city is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
Minister of Local Government and Housing Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian said Sarawak Multimedia Agency (SMA) will handle the tendering process and come up with the advertisement by the end of January 2021.
“This will be an open tender and the tender advertisement will be out by the end of this month so that the project can kick-off by the second quarter of this year.
“There is an allocation for this project and we expect it to be completed by this end of this year,” he said after officiating the Smart City CCTV for Batu Kawah here today.
He said the CCTVs located at the areas of Kuching North City Hall (DBKU), Kuching South City Council (MBKS), Kota Samarahan Municipal Council (MPKS) and Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) will feed the Sarawak Integrated Operation Centre (SIOC) with real-time footage and data daily on a 24-hour year-round basis.
In doing so, the CCTV network will create a safe environment for the community in terms of crime and vandalism prevention, early flood warning and securing assets close to respective CCTV sites.
Dr Sim said, the information from the SIOC will be channelled to relevant agencies to enable immediate action to be taken in the event of a disaster or emergency.
He said, as part of Sarawak Digital Economy initiative to accelerate economic growth via the Smart city Concept, the information from SIOC will also be available and can be accessed by the members of the public.
“We want our people to be involved in this initiative so that they can access some of this information and the various applications that will be available for the public soon,” he said.
Apart from installation of CCTVs, Dr Sim said that almost 80 per cent of the area around Kuching has been equipped with Smart traffic light system.
He said, all thw Smart traffic light will also link to the SIOC and can be accessed by the relevant authorities and eventually also be available for the public to access.
Meanwhile SMA General Manager Dr Zaidi Razak said the SIOC for the Greater Kuching Smart City is now 97 per cent completed.
However he did not reveal the location of the centre as it will be announced by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Abang Openg soon. — DayakDaily
