The Indonesian National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) will cooperate with the Municipality of Manado on matters of remote sensing data and technology utilization in supporting the development of Manado. Manado city is the capital of Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, located at its northern tip in a mountainous area surrounded by the ocean.
The agreement of cooperation was signed by the Deputy Chairman for Remote Sensing at LAPAN, Dr. Orbita Roswintiarti and the Mayor of Manado, Dr. GS Vicky Lumentut. The signing was witnessed by the Governor of North Sulawesi, Olly Dondokambey, SE. The event occurred at the Mayor of Manado Office, Friday 14 July, in a series of Special Plenary Sessions of the Manado Parliament. Also in attendance were the leader of the Manado Parliament, the leader of the Indonesian Army and Police, all regional officials in Manado, and representatives from the partners of Manado Municipality.
This agreement builds on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between LAPAN and North Sulawesi Provincial Government which was signed in 2016.
The Mayor and the Deputy Mayor of Manado have initiated the Manado CERDAS program, which stands for Cendekia (Scholarship), Ekowisata (Ecotourism), Religi (Religion), Daya Saing (Competitiveness), and Sehat Sejahtera (Health and Prosperity) — with the eventual aim of having an integrated “smart city” program. To improve connectivity in order to serve the above aspects, Manado Municipality has built a Data Center and a CERDAS Command Center.
Through this cooperation, LAPAN will integrate the Earth Monitoring System built by LAPAN with CERDAS Command Center. This is to provide the “widest benefit for the people of Manado”. The Earth Monitoring System is to be connected “server-to-server” and is to be updated regularly.
In addition to supporting the continuity of system operations and application of remote sensing data, the competent Civil Apparatus in Manado Municipality will be trained by LAPAN to process data independently.
