The Planning Authority has launched a new base map for the Maltese Islands. Produced from high-resolution orthographic imagery with an impeccable precision and ability to collect detailed information, the new basemap reflects the realities of today and will serve as a ‘canvas’ for volumes of data to tell their story.

The base map is one of the key deliverables of the €7 million SIntegraM project which was partially financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Ing. Stephen Ferrito, the PA’s Director for Mapping, Information Technology and Digital Services, said “The launch of this new base map is another important piece of the bigger picture which heralds a new exciting era for spatial data in Malta. Over these past few years, the Planning Authority together with our strategic partner, have worked on the mammoth task in developing Malta’s first National Spatial Data Infrastructure, the GI Strategy and infrastructure development. The new base map, 30 years after the initial base map creation, serves as the keystone and will provide the canvas for how the spatial data we collect, manage, analyse and make available can tell its story.”

The base map offers key information on the terrain of the Maltese Islands such as buildings, open spaces, and the road network.  It is composed of 18 layers and contains over 50 different classifications. The new base map is subdivided into a bottom to top approach where the surface layers act as a base layer and additional environmental features are superimposed, providing the possibility to identify ruins, cliffs, rubble walls, the characteristics of terrain and assist in the taking of informed decisions.

The Maltese base map is widely used for environmental analysis, development planning, laying of new roads, ambulance detours, bus routes and a thousand other applications.

This base map may be accessed from on the Planning Authority’s website www.pa.org.mt through the geoportal link.