The general simplified census to take stock of population, houses and buildings will be conducted this year in a sophisticated manner, it was announced at a workshop held yesterday.The Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics (MDPS) conducted the workshop in collaboration with the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning (MMUP) to introduce the stakeholders to the mechanism that would be adopted throughout the process. The census would be conducted through advanced technological applications. The personnel collecting information from field visits would be equipped with handheld electronic devices to ease the collection and processing of the information. “The census is a national project by nature where citizens, expatriates, and both private and government sectors take part in making it a success by supplying the census representatives with the required information and making their job easy,” HE the Minister of Development Planning and Statistics Dr Saleh Mohamed Salem al-Nabit told the workshop. “This simplified census aims at measuring the change in the structure of the population in the country, according to the applicable geographical and planning divisions. It further aims at identifying the areas of population concentration and making a general survey of land usage.” Abdulla Ahmed al-Karani, MMUP’s director of planning department and director of the comprehensive construction plan, stressed the importance of the upcoming census for all the sectors and departments of the country and for decision makers in particular. “We conduct a comprehensive survey of land use in the country in co-operation with MDPS to respond to the planning requirements of MMUP,” he pointed out.A number of representatives from different departments and ministries took part in the workshop, besides representatives from different private sector entities and research centres and universities in the countries. The reference period for such a census is set for April 20 and 21, the same as of that of 2010 to compare the outcomes with that period.