from mapscript import mapObj,layerObj wkt = '''PROJCS["NAD83(HARN) / Delaware",GEOGCS["NAD83(HARN)",DATUM["NAD83_High_Accuracy_Regional_Network",SPHEROID["GRS 1980",6378137,298.257222101,AUTHORITY["EPSG","7019"]],AUTHORITY["EPSG","6152"]],PRIMEM["Greenwich",0,AUTHORITY["EPSG","8901"]],UNIT["degree",0.01745329251994328,AUTHORITY["EPSG","9122"]],AUTHORITY["EPSG","4152"]],UNIT["metre",1,AUTHORITY["EPSG","9001"]],PROJECTION["Transverse_Mercator"],PARAMETER["latitude_of_origin",38],PARAMETER["central_meridian",-75.41666666666667],PARAMETER["scale_factor",0.999995],PARAMETER["false_easting",200000],PARAMETER["false_northing",0],AUTHORITY["EPSG","2776"],AXIS["X",EAST],AXIS["Y",NORTH]]''' m = mapObj('') m.setWKTProjection(wkt) lyr = layerObj(m) lyr.setWKTProjection(wkt)