mswkt = '''GEOGCS["SAD69",DATUM["South_American_Datum_1969",SPHEROID["GRS 1967 Modified",6378160,298.25],TOWGS84[-79,13,-14,0,0,0,0]],PRIMEM["Greenwich",0,AUTHORITY["EPSG","8901"]],UNIT["degree",0.0174532925199433,AUTHORITY["EPSG","9122"]],AUTHORITY["EPSG","4618"]]''' m = mapObj('') m.setWKTProjection(mswkt) lyr = layerObj(m) lyr.setWKTProjection(mswkt)