Big leap forward as MMDA inaugurates state of the art Communications and Command Center
A safe and intelligent Metropolis is the MMDA’s vision for Metro Manila. The agency inaugurated its Communications and Command Center or CCC on a momentous occasion. Serving as the nerve center of Metro Manila’s major thoroughfares, the modern and high-tech facility is now the largest, most advanced, and most cost-effective command center of any government agency in the country.
Communications and Command Center will be the central hub of MMDA law enforcement operations
Photo: Metro Manila Development Authority
Digitalization has been pushed very strongly across all government agencies, and the MMDA was not to be left behind. With the opening of its CCC, the agency now has a permanent facility that will house its operation center, data center, situation room, viewing room, media room, and power room and will also include new technologies that include high-definition closed circuit television cameras, intelligent traffic signalization system, and Hytera radio smart dispatch system with built-in GPS.
“This is a major step for MMDA to make Metro Manila a safe and smart metropolis by using smart technologies and data analytics to aid the country into its economic development and strengthened security,” said Atty. Don Artes, MMDA Acting Chairman, during the inauguration ceremony.
Photo: Metro Manila Development Authority
Just how “smart” and high-tech is the CCC? For starters, we can see the massive video wall system in the photos above. Among many things, this will be used for flood control monitoring of the Flood Control Information Center (FCIC) Effective Flood Control Operation System (EFCOS) and will also be able to show a video feed for body-worn cameras to be used by MMDA traffic enforcers.
The MMDA CCC will also monitor feeds from 403 high-tech CCTV cameras installed across critical and major infrastructure projects in the metro – pumping stations, bus bays, waterways, and even the Manila Baywalk Dolomite Beach – as well as adaptive and sensor-based traffic lights which are linked through a fiber optic network owned by the agency. The agency is in the process of installing 638 CCTV cameras along major thoroughfares in NCR as well as 166 more CCTVs with data analytics connected along the EDSA Bus Carousel.
Another new technology that the CCC is proud to show off is the Hytera Radio Smart Dispatch System. It is a dispatch software with a built-in global positioning system (GPS) and smart map to locate traffic enforcers in real time. With it, the CCC can communicate with other radio users to relay important messages and instructions, especially in an emergency.
Photo: Metro Manila Development Authority
Handling the data is its like-named Data Center that can accommodate 25 server racks in the future. 899,239 meters of fiber optics across Metro Manila is already being used by the CCC and an additional 105,360 meters is already being laid down, the longest fiber optic cable network owned by a government agency. But this is only the beginning.
MMDA Acting Chairman Artes shared that a lot more is in the pipe for the CCC, and the list is extensive. Let’s have a look. Are you ready?
The plans include the installation of a 45-kilometer fiber optic cable to be able to integrate NCR LGUs’ CCTVs, as well as the procurement of an artificial intelligence program with vehicle classification, car counter, license plate, and facial recognition. The MMDA also plans to use a license plate recognition feature of the AI program for traffic enforcement and management, and the addition of facial recognition and behavioral analytics will be used by the Department of Interior and Local Government for crime prevention and resolution. The agency will likewise procure a mobile command center with its own satellite internet and remote CCTV capabilities to monitor significant events such as the President’s annual State of the Nation Address and other calamities.
“With these technologies and facilities pooled into our command center, kumpiyansa po akong mas inclusive at tiyak na mas maaasahan ang ating bagong [I am confident that we are more inclusive and that we have a reliable] MMDA CCC. Lahat po ito ay naka-angkla sa ating sinumpaang tungkulin na magbigay ng epektibo at episyenteng serbisyo publiko tungo sa mas maunlad at mas progresibong [All these are anchored on our sworn duties to provide effective and efficient public service towards a prosperous and progressive] Metro Manila,” Artes later concluded.
