ISLAMABAD: The government is set to install over 1,700 close circuit television (CCTV) cameras in Islamabad under the Safe City Project.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told the Senate on Friday that the Safe City Project was re-initiated in March last year.

The Islamabad capital territory police had completed a survey for installing the cameras and submitted its findings to the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra), which was implementing the project.

In 2012, the Supreme Court declared the Safe City Project illegal and invalid and having been executed in violation of the mandatory provisions of the Public Procurement Rules 2004.

Under the project, security cameras were to be installed in Islamabad and Peshawar.

Nonetheless, the project was re-initiated in March 2014.

The government revived an agreement with a Chinese company for the procurement and installation of modern surveillance equipment for the multi-billion rupees project.

Talking to Dawn, Assistant Inspector General of Police, Sultan Azam Temuri said the police had a limited role in identifying the locations for installing the cameras.

As many as 1,190 static cameras, 510 dome-shaped pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras that could rotate 360 degrees and another 250 intelligent vehicle recognition cameras were being installed in the streets of Islamabad.

He said the cameras had the capabilities to read face, licence plate and work at night.

“The vehicle recognition cameras are fitted with smart programme which capture the image of the number plates,” said Mr Temuri.

He said a Chinese company had been contracted to provide the equipment for the project.

However, various low and good quality security surveillance technologies were available in the market and some security experts do not recommend Chinese equipment.

An expert explained on the condition of anonymity that the PTZ camera that could zoom two kilometres with precision, besides rotating 360 degrees, did not mean it was the most efficient.

It also had to perform efficiently enough to capture images without distortion in all kinds of weather conditions such as heavy rains and storm.

According to Mohammed Kalim, a supplier of surveillance equipment, the market offers low quality Chinese security cameras worth Rs3,000 and Rs4,000 and those manufactured by Samsung and General Electronics that could cost as high as Rs150,000 to Rs400,000.

The project is likely to be completed by June 2015.

Published in Dawn January 31st, 2015

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