REPORTS FROM THE 1999 GLOBAL SUPER PROJECTS CONFERENCE MADRID, SPAIN • 2-5 MAY 1999
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Welcome and Opening Statement
Madrid, Spain
Today we convene the 1999 Global Super Projects Confer-ence. On behalf of the World Development Federation let me extend a special welcome to all participants.
For those who are with us for the first time we should point out that the WDF is an independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit organization that seeks to provide a forum for free and innovative discussions of global development strategies. We urge you to participate freely.
Our primary purpose is to share ideas and enhance the skills of those who plan, build, and manage the world's most important development projects. We also seek to assist project sponsors in identifying service providers in various areas of expertise and we hope to exert an influence in the setting of global priorities. Of course we want to recognize those who have made outstanding contributions.
In this regard I would like to take this opportunity to salute Spain for the contribution it has made to the development of my country and others in the Americas. In one of the most noteworthy examples of long-range city planning, Spanish pioneers, beginning in 1769, selected 21 sites along the Pacific coast and established missions thatbecame new towns. Many grew to be great cities, including those that we know today as Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego.
Looking to the economic development of those new towns, the Spanish settlers brought in grapes and oranges. That was the basis for the great California citrus and wine industry of today. Thank you!
This is only one reason why it is appropriate for us to hold this meeting here today in Spain. More important, we are here to learn more about the very impressive development program promulgated by Mayor Alvarez del Manzano and his team. We are grateful to Mayor Alvarez del Manzano, Deputy Mayor Ignacio del Rio, conference Commissioner Pedro Garcia Alarco, and to the Empresa Municipal del Suelo for their many contributions to this conference. We look forward to the papers to be presented and to the tours that have been arranged.
This conference will also serve to counteract the gloom and doom impressions found in global news reports.
A recent survey of leading news media around the world listed these as the top news stories of the past year:
• The Asian economic crisis
The striking aspect of this is that every one of these stories relates to bad news. Not one of them tells of a major discovery or project that promises to improve the quality of life of the people of the world.
Yet you and I know that around the world work is underway on hundreds of great projects that will yield benefits for decades after the bad-news headlines have been forgotten. These are the works of creative positive-thinking men and women like those assembled here today.
You and I are privileged to live and work in a period of breathtaking change and excite-ment. Great new projects are being planned and implemented all around us. At WDF headquarters we have counted more than 1,700 projects, each of which involves expendi-tures of $1 billion or more. From past studies we know that approximately one third of these projects are in the idea or talk stage, anoth-er one third are in planning and feasibility analysis stages, and another one third are under construction.
Let's take a quick look at some of the more significant projects that we have followed in the 1990s, beginning with projects that have been completed:
At the top of our list we have the completion of the last link in the Rhine Danube canal - a project that was begun in the 8th century. Also we have the Eurotunnel, which was first proposed more than 200 years ago. These are dreams that have come true!
During the decade we also saw the completion of great new global airports at Osaka, Denver, Munich, and Hong Kong. There were huge new urban redevelopment and reconstruction projects in London, Shanghai, Beirut, and Berlin. The fires were extinguished in Kuwait and six new tourism centers were built in Mexico.
Another group of projects is now underway and some are nearing completion. There is the Great Belt that will provide an automobile link between Scandinavia and the rest of Europe. There is the Anatolia hydropower program in Turkey. Saudi Arabia continues to develop Jubail, a new industrial city. In Libya, progress is being made on the Great Man-Made River irrigation project. China is moving forward with the Three Gorges dam to control floods on the Yangtze.
In the field of telecommunications, there are outstanding projects underway, including the laying of cables completely around Africa and from the UK to the Orient. The day of universal global wireless communication is fast approaching with the Iridium and Teledesic projects.
We also have a number of important projects in the planning stage. Construction on some elements may start soon, while others are farther in the future.
There are projects such as the proposed Peace Water Pipeline, which would not only meet an important need for water in arid areas of the Middle East, but which might bring political unity to a troubled region. Water projects are perhaps the most important items on the global agenda.
There is also the proposal for a great global highway that would link some 100 nations on five continents. It would have a profound impact on world communication, trade, and development. This plan would include a Gibraltar crossing and a new Silk Road from Europe to the Pacific.
The rapid increase in the number of satellites being launched may justify new space ports, such as those proposed on Australia's York peninsula and on Indonesia's Biak island. Both sites offer the advantage of being near the equator where launches require less power.
Much research is underway to develop non-fossil fuels, which would revolutionize development in many areas.
Looking farther ahead planners are now studying systems for deflecting asteroids that might be headed toward the earth and for terraforming on Mars to produce inhabitable sites there.
That is a lot of good news! These are all projects that promise to contribute to a better quality of life for large segments of the world's population. They deserve a salute!
The risks involved in building these super projects are enormous. The fortunes, reputations, and even the lives of people and nations are at stake.
Why undertake them?
Obviously, new global super projects will pump up our economies and create jobs and they will produce new wonders of the world to thrill and inspire the world's people. But, unlike earlier civilizations, which built monuments, we are building the facilities most important in meeting the basic needs of humanity.
The overwhelming chal-lenge is population growth. The world began this decade with a population of less than 6 billion. During this decade, we expect to see a population increase of more than one billion. Early in the 21st century we will add another billion. This uncontrolled population growth will produce a fantastic demand for food, shelter, clothing and essen-tial services.
To meet production goals we will need to add thousands of new manufac-turing plants in scores of new industrial parks. There will be a corresponding need for energy, water, housing, and other infrastructure.
Even though it will be very difficult to provide for the new population at the present standard of living, that will not be enough. Rising expectations will make it necessary to improve the quality of life for most of the people of the world.
Clearly, those who think about world programs must think big, very big. Those of us here today and the groups we represent face an awesome challenge - we must undertake the greatest development program in the history of the world.
If we are to succeed, we must learn how to produce global super projects on time, within budget, and according to a well-conceived global strategy.
At the center of this great program is the development of the super cities of Century 21. This week in our prepared presentations and in informal discussions we will examine such fascinating issues as:
New and changing urban forms:
Special-purpose urban centers:
New features and technologies:
How to blend such concepts into a super metropolitan area and achieve:
Our ultimate goal is to improve the quality of life for the people of the world. We recognize that failure to do so might result in chaos. Nothing less than the future of our civilization is at stake.
We must dream.
But we must be more than dreamers. We must be dream implementers.
Let's go to work!
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