PWD to digitise colonial-era records

The project was ideated after the officials stumbled upon a gold mine of old data. “During the renovation of PWD building two months ago, we found a room full of old records dating back to 1860s. We knew that the record room contained significant information about British officials. But we did not expect to come across records as old as from the 1860s,” said a senior PWD official.

“Some of the files chronicle a British PWD official’s career annually. These records should be digitised to preserve them for future generations,” the official said.

The documents found in the room also include detailed records of every heritage building, such as the method and materials used to construct the building with information about the engineer as well.

The digitisation process will be done by the archaeology department. “It will take two to three months for the documents to be counted and organised. Only then can we begin to save them digitally,” the senior official said.