[Goanet] THE CHALLENGE OF INTEGRATED URBAN TRANSPORT PLANNING
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=131005 With fuel prices spiralling and uncertain, fe takes a look at what is being done to give citizens a reliable and affordable public transport system. A report across states Delhi's transport policy is ad hoc, sadly inadequate RAJAT GUHA Four years after it was first promised, the city government hasn't moved on a proposal for a multi-modal transport authority, although it was supposed to be something the chief minister favours. Three years before, the government had spoken of electric trolley buses, high capacity buses (HCBs) and a light rail transit (LRT) system, besides a mono-rail. Till date, with the exception of five HCBs, none of the other projects has gone anywhere. Electric trolley buses were to be introduced on two corridors by the end of 2003. Today, the project is as good as shelved. The LRT system met the same fate. Despite numerous feasibility studies, the project has not seen the light of day. As for the mono-rail, the idea was to have one for the walled city. But it has failed to enthuse the Union urban ministry, which would have to arrange the finances. Three corridors had been tentatively identified, but lack the backing of a proper study. -- Goa amy also need to plan (and implement) urban transport systems in an integrated way. Let's hope Financial Express (FE) covers Goa in its survey too. (GOG should be monitoring and pushing for proper coverage of Goa in the national news. But that's another story.) Cheers. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] WATCH THESE MOVES!
http://www.businessworldindia.com/issue/news01.asp Interview / praful patel 'I'm All for Competition' Union civil aviation minister Praful Patel is in favour of more competition among airports. However, it all has to be done in a thought-out manner, he affirms. The reason: **states are bound by contractual obligations to not allow new greenfield airports within a certain radius of an international airport (150 km).** In a candid talk with BW's Anjuli Bhargava, Patel expressed his opinion on a few issues surrounding Indian aviation. Excerpts: On competition We want to see more competition between airports and we want more greenfield airports coming up. We will have to see how this can best be done. **A bill or some other directive to encourage competition among airports could be introduced at some stage. Many private sector players including Air Deccan have been arguing for more competition among airports to get better rates. *In Bangalore, for instance, low-cost operators are keen that the existing HAL facility be converted to a low-cost facility for their use.* There is no new facility coming up at Bidadi, near Bangalore. Bids will, however, be invited soon for the *new airports in Navi Mumbai with 100 per cent private ownership,* but we need Cabinet approval for this.** Airports the world over compete for traffic, with airlines often choosing their airport of use based on the rates offered by the airport for landing, navigation and other charges. That's why we need a civil aviation regulatory authority. - In the case of Goa (i.e. Dabolim + Mopa) the proposed civil aviation regulatory authority must ensure that the competition is healthy and BOTH airports survive in the long term. One cannot competitively drive the other out of business. For this to happen, Mopa has to be (re-)designed to be a back up for Dabolim to begin with and scale up in a modular and calibrated way. And, of course, Dabolim has to revert to its original civilian status. Both airports have to be managed -- and regulated -- as an integrated unit. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] RE: LOW COST AIRLINES: GOAIR
A short while ago, I had to make a rushed trip to Goa. Goair - one of the new-fangled airlines - was the only one with a seat available online at the time. Quickly putting my itinerary together, I made 2 date changes and was in and out of Goa in 3 days. When I received my credit card bill, I had been bilked almost $ 300 for this short flight i.e. well in excess of Rs. 10,000 ! [FR] On May 30 I had posted a piece titled So you wanna cheap air ticket on goanet. It was an article by Ashley Coutinho from Economic Times. Here is the link one more time. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1593065.cms A few relevant excerpts: most airlines have now switched to dynamic fares. These fares fluctuate depending on the daily market demand and generally, the earlier one books the tickets, the greater is the chance of getting cheaper fares. ...Indian's Easy Fares gave them a clear picture on how dynamic fares work. Easy Fares offer discounts up to 60% on specified sectors and are available under four levels for economy class. For a Mumbai-Delhi flight on June 10, they found that fares increased from Rs 4,270 for level 4 to Rs 7,350 for level 1. Once the seats for a particular level are filled up, the next higher level fare becomes applicable. But their fare for the same flight came down to Rs 3,205 under the newly-introduced unchecked fares, available for a limited number of seats in the economy class in select sectors... Most airlines may introduce last-minute fares, which may be cheaper than fares bought in advance. Hence, last-minute travel may prove to be more economical at times. A full-service carrier can cost less than a low-cost one on certain days. Hope this helps you understand your experience. Thank you for flying low cost airlines! Cheers. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] RE: LOW COST AVIATION MAKES STEADY GAINS
I dont recall putting down Gopinath personally. All I
said that Air Deccan's IPO did not go very well.[ Marlon Menezes]
Think about it: Capt Gopinath of Air Deccan
which you put down is now probably not only personally very rich but
indubitably hugely famous. {Self]
The put down is clearly of Air Deccan, not Capt Gopinath. The key word
here is which (not who). We are both right! Hope this clears the air.
Teehee.
_
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[Goanet] A BRIDGE (AND AIRPORT!) TOO FEW
The reports about the cracks in the Zuari Bridge and the restriction and possible complete closure of vehicular traffic on it (throwing tourism via air out of gear) highlights the acute need for a back up airport at Mopa when contingencies like this occur. What does Alemao Churchill have to say now? I am all ears. Cheers. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] CHANGES PLANNED FOR MUMBAI AIR TERMINALS [1501]
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1648736.cms Domestic airport terminal to be moved to Sahar TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 2006 02:47:35 AM] MUMBAI: Mumbai's domestic airport terminal will be moved from Santa Cruz, where it has been located for the past 45 years, to Sahar in Andheri in the next few years. The domestic and international terminals will be part of a new airport complex being planned at Sahar by Mumbai International Airport (MIAP), the new consortium that has taken over the operations of India's largest airport. The existing domestic terminal at Santa Cruz will be converted either into a terminal for low cost airlines or into a cargo hub, MIAP managing director GV Sanjay Reddy said. The consortium plans to invest about Rs 5,800 crore over the next seven years in the airport project. The two airport terminals, at Santa Cruz and Sahar, now use the same air-side facilities (runway, etc), but are physically separated on the land-side. In the new scheme, the terminals will be connected to the Western Express highway with an eight-lane expressway, Mr Reddy said. -- The length of the 8-lane expressway should not be more than 6-8km (six to eight km only). But in a congested place like Mumbai that will be like 50 km in Goa! _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] RE: LOW COST AVIATION MAKES STEADY GAINS
The real question that should be asked is whether these so called low cost airlines are making any money. Alternatively are their market share gains from genuinely lower cost operations or their lower prices regardless of costs. [Marlon Menezes] Sure their bottom lines may be (in fact, ARE!) bleeding. But airline entrepreneurs are looking at the humongous 'opportunity' of doing this business in India. Dont you get it? Big country, torturous surface travel, growing incomes etc etc. The money will come if they get their business model right. There are avenues for shaving conventional costs including in e-ticketing etc.You cant expect to be in the black from day one, right? Anyway, the low cost no frills model is here to stay thanks to Air Deccan. In the era of sky high fuel costs, cost cutting is the name of the game. Sooner or later everyone will be on the bandwagon. The days of Carmen Miranda style luxury (air) liners are going the way of the dodo in domestic skies. Cheers! P.S. Think about it: Capt Gopinath of Air Deccan which you put down is now probably not only personally very rich but indubitably hugely famous. How about that for rewards! _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] LOW COST AVIATION MAKES STEADY GAINS
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1035067 New airlines gain more ground Praveena Sharma Monday, June 12, 2006 21:11 IST BANGALORE: Challenger airlines like Air Deccan, Kingfisher Air, SpiceJet and Go Air continue to eat into the market share of incumbent carriers like Indian Airlines, Jet Airways and Air Sahara. Statistics put out by the director-general of civil aviation (DGCA) on the airline market share, between September 2005 and April this year, show that all legacy airlines have lost market share even as challenger carrier are beefing theirs. As per DGCA figures, the legacy operators have lost 14.26 percentage points as their share fell from 81% (September 2005) to 66.74% in April 2006. Of this, 4.56 percentage points were lopped off between January and April this year. Interestingly, their loss has been start-up airlines' gain. The share of new airlines has moved up 14.4 percentage point from 19% to 33.4% during the same period. In the first four months (January-April) of this calendar year, they have cornered 6.56 percentage points. And who do you think is the biggest loser? It's the one-time undisputed market leader -Jet Airways (which still is, but with a smaller lead). Its market share during the same period decreased 6.4 percentage points from 41% to 34.6%. The full service carriers' share has been ranging in the region of 34% and 36% since January this year. If the combined market share of Jet and Air Sahara (which was acquired by Jet in January this year for Rs 2,300 crore) is taken, then the fall is quite steep at nine percentage points, from 52.5% to 43.5%. Sahara's market share has tumbled 3.1 percentage points since the takeover, from 11.6% in January to 8.5% in April. During this four-month period, Jet-Sahara market share has slumped 9.7 percentage points from 46.2% to 36.5%. The airline that has bitten off the largest chunk of the aviation pie is budget carrier Air Deccan. It has scaled up its share by 6.8 percentage points to 16.7% in April from 9.9% in September last year. This low-cost carrier, promoted by ex-pilot Captain G R Gopinath, is now missing Jet's half market share size by 1.2 percentage points. Another casualty among the new breed of airlines is state-owned Indian (Indian Airlines). Indian's market share has eroded 4.86 percentage points in the eight-month period from 28.5% to 23.64%. Since January, it has dropped 1.36 percentage points from 25% to 23.64% in April. Jet's rival in the domestic market - Kingfisher Air - took 3 percentage points of the market as it increased its share from 4.6% in September last year to 7.6% in April. Last four months have seen its market hover between 7.6% and 8.7%. SpiceJet's market share from September 2005 to April this year has also climbed 2.5 percentage points from 4.5% to 7.01%. Go Air, which has started releasing its market share figures since February this year, has seen its share rise from 1.8% in February to 2.09% in April. --- What DGCA in its half cocked way of putting out stastistics doesnt say is that despite losing market share the legacy carriers like Jet and Indian have not lost passenger volumes. These have only risen due to the expansion of the market which in turn is due to the lower cost fare regime. So, to those who cant afford air fares the message is: you may be able to do so sooner than you imagined! _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] UPDATE ON UPGRADE (SET SNOOZE ALARM FOR 2009!) [2nd try]
TOI 10/6/06 Headline: Panel clears airports upgradation plan Key point: Among the airports to be upgraded are those in Goa, Jaipur, Amritsar, Agra and Patna ... The minister said work (on the 35 nonmetro airports) was likely to begin next year and be completed by 2009 in three phases. Bottom line: The new Dabolim is not likely to materialise any time soon i.e. not before 2009. Some other tidbits: The total cost of upgrading the 35 nonmetro airports is estimated at Rs 8000 crores. [Earlier we were told Rs 1500 crores was the bill for 10 of them including Goa and Rs 500 crores was for Dabolim alone]. AAI would be responsible for the airside work including tarmacs (runways) , apron areas (parking bays), and passenger terminals (and perhaps control towers). Private investment would be sought for city-side facilities such as restaurants, hotels and car parking. FDI of up to 49% is allowed within a private investment limit of 74%. The balance would be held by AAI. Question: A month ago it was reported that a new passenger terminal was being considered as part of the Dabolim upgrade. Where exactly is this going to be located? And how will folks be able to access it? Will it end up like being practically another airport from the passenger point of view (though the runway would be common)? What chances are there that AAI will mend its antediluvian ways? SO: UTT GOEMKARS AND TAKE AN INTEREST IN THE KIND OF CONNECTIVITY BEING FOISTED ON YOU AND ME!!! _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] EMERGING HOTEL SCENARIO
http://www.business-standard.com/lifeleisure/storypage.php?leftnm=lmnu4subL eft=2autono=94439tab=r Room for more Sangeeta Singh / New Delhi June 10, 2006 First it was the malls, now it is the hospitality industry. A hotel boom is signalling the biggest spurt in building across major cities in India. Some numbers. In 2005, 3.92 million foreign tourists (this term includes business travellers) visited India, while the availability of approved hotel rooms was a mere 1,00,000. For the ninth and tenth five-year plans, the Ministry of Tourism's official projection of hotel rooms is pegged at a conservative 1,25,000 (for an estimated 3.5 million foreign tourists a year). Indian travellers have not been factored in. But with international air capacity into India increasing by leaps and bounds, and its markets pointing the future for companies and countries across the globe, get ready to be grounded unless the great room rush takes off. According to a recent study by hotel monitoring body HVS International-India, while Hyderabad, Mumbai, Goa, Chennai, the NCR and Bangalore occupy top slot for hotels, emerging markets for the hotel industry include Pune, Cochin, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad and Vishakapatnam. According to HVS data, while Hyderabad will need 8,000 rooms by 2009, supply will be more than 5,400 rooms. In Goa, demand by 2009 will be as high as 6,500 rooms, but supply will not cross 2,800 rooms. In Chennai, the projected demand at 7,500 rooms will far outstrip supply at 5,000, and in Bangalore, while demand will be anywhere between 14,000-20,000 rooms, supply will not be more than 6,800 rooms. --- The projected demand supply gap does seem high for Goa. It may be next only to Bangalore's upper end in the above comparison. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] ADPI (THE BRAIN BEHIND MOPA DESIGN) STILL ON THE PROWL
http://www.ndtvprofit.com/homepage/storybusinessnew.asp?id=31612template=c ache=6/8/2006%207:14:44%20PM Government prioritises airport revamp The Left might not allow private players in modernisation of Kolkata airport, which could go to the Airport Authority of India. Last week all four Left parties had written to the Prime Minister arguing that Kolkata airport should not be handed over to any private company, as AAI was competent. AAI has already started giving the Kolkata Airport a makeover. It has got Airports de Paris to draw up a detailed design for a new terminal building. A budget of Rs 750 crore has been sanctioned to build a fully automated international cargo terminal, new runways and even a second domestic terminal if needed. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] MIG 29 CRASHES IN JAMNAGAR [MIG 29Ks DUE IN GOA]
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1632381.cms But another MiG bites the dust [ Friday, June 09, 2006 01:20:10 amTIMES NEWS NETWORK ] RAJKOT: A MiG-29 trainer aircraft of IAF crashed approximately 30 km north of Jamnagar into the sea, near Pirotan island, where the Marine National Park is situated, at 12.10 pm on Thursday. The pilots, Wing Commander A Nautiyal and Squadron Leader N K Mahal, ejected safely and were rescued. Both pilots, according to sources in Jamnagar cantonment, were admitted to Air Force hospital. Official sources in the IAF said the aircraft was on a routine training mission from Bhuj Air Base and was returning to Jamnagar. Sources said no individual was injured or killed as a result of crash and an inquiry had been ordered. Immediately after the incident, fire-brigade personnel of Jamnagar Municipal Corporation (JMC), the Coast Guard, IAF and naval staff were dispatched to the spot for rescue operations. They also assessed whether or not there was damage to the island and to marine life. A team of the forest department and disaster management authority have also been sent by the state government. -- Some info on Mig-29 and Mig-29K: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (Russian: ???-29) (NATO reporting name 'Fulcrum') is a fighter aircraft designed for the air superiority role in the Soviet Union. Designed in the early 1970s by the Mikoyan design bureau, it entered service in 1983 and remains in use by the Russian Air Force as well as many export nations. The MiG-29 is still under development, and a new version of the plane called MiG-29 SMT and MiG-29 M2 are being developed. Furthermore, a carrier version of the aircraft, the MIG-29K, is being developed for the Indian Navy's INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier (formerly the Soviet Union's Admiral Gorshkov). This version was originally meant for Soviet service but due to a landing accident during carrier trials, it had to be left in port for repairs and the carrier trials went on without it. The idea seems to have been resurrected for the Indian Navy. .. ... ... Variant Summary MiG-29K Fulcrum D (Product 9.41): Updated ship borne version, intended for the Indian Navy. Based on the original 9.13, but with additional fuel tanks in the fuselage spine and a folding radome. Cockpit displays consist of LCD MFDs, and a new digital fly-by-wire system replaces the original analogue system. Compatible with the full range of weapons carried by the MiG-29M and MiG-29SMT. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] DE-CODE DA 'AIRPORTS' CODE (FOR A CHANGE!)
HERALD 8/6/06 Headline: Mopa panel gets 6-month extension Gist: A six member committee to go into the Mopa international airport issue was constituted by Government of India in end-January 2006 under the chairmanship of Goa CM Rane. The members consisted of Goa's 2 LS MPs, one RS MP, and two bureaucrats (one from Goa and the other from the civil aviation ministry). Initially three months' time was given for a decision by the committee. Till now the committee has reportedly met three times. At its request it has been now granted an extension of 6 months w.e.f. end April i.e. till end October. Meanwhile the Centre has mooted a proposal to upgrade Dabolim airport [to the tune of Rs 500 crores]. Key Quote: According to the terms of reference, the commttee has to look into all aspects relating to the construction of a new airport at Mopa and advise the government of India on the necessity of either continuing or closing the current airport at Dabolim. My question(s): The HASG has interpreted the above to mean that Goa government has to choose between Mopa and Dabolim. Its either or, not both. Is this correct? Is there scope for considering a downsized Mopa in conjunction with an upgraded and ermanent Dabolim? CM Rane for his part maintains that Dabolim will continue and that is corroborated by the Navy spokesperson on goanet. The latter could however mean that Dabolim will be reserved for VVIP traffic. What's the use? _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] THE STIRRING SAGA OF NEARBY MANGALORE AIRPORT
http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=22369n_tit=Mangalore+Airp ort+Status%3A+Who's+Playing+with+our+Sentiments%3F' When the Mangalore airport started its flight operations in 1951, it was one of the historic moments for the land of Dakshina Kannada and around. During that time, not many people might have thought that it would take another fifty years for an international flight to land here ! The progress of Mangalore airport was at a snail's pace until recently. The campaign for international status to the airport was started sometime in 1971, as many people recall. Many people did their best but had to give up out of sheer despair. Now the million-dollar question. The airport is ready, the customs facility is ready, the immigration is ready...but where is the flight? Daijiworld.com played a major role in mobilizing and promoting appeals to the higher level through its reports from time to time. In Mangalore, a few local dailies have taken special interest in this issue and have been reporting regularly to highlight the need of the hour. ... ... A large number of articles, news, interviews and pictures published on this portal over the last three years are an example of efforts and interest taken by our team, whether in Mangalore, Mumbai, Dubai or elsewhere. Now hundreds of emails are flooding our mailboxes about the status of the international flight. Our team in Dubai gets calls from everywhere. Our Mangalore office is flooded with calls from aborad..'When is the first flight?' We deliver whatever news we receive from reliable sources. And we will keep updating our readers and it is our commitment than every single information received will be shared through this flatform. All we need is a little patience. We are very hopeful that the first flight will surely land very soon. Any suggestions and further efforts on the part of NRI's are most welcome. Please write to us and let us know what you, as individuals or collectively, can do towards realizing this dream. Amen and godspeed, Mangalore! _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] AAI ANGLE TO DABOLIM CONUNDRUM
TOI 6/6/06 Headline: AAI creates turbulence for charter flights Quote #1: Says SRR Rao, regional executive director, AAI: 'It has been AAI policy for 50 years to keep the airports open AS PER AIRLINE SCHEDULES'. The policy continues even though civil aviation is seeing phenomenal growth .., Rao admits. Quote #2: ... 'getting a sanction to fly during non-hours [sic] is difficult', says a private aircraft owner. Quote #3: Apart from a handful of AAI hubs ... most AAI airports remain open for only five to six hours a day ... Others stay open only twice or thrice a week. Quote #4 : Almost 90 of 97 airports belonging to AAI have such specific watch hours which mean they are NOT AVAILABLE FOR ROUND-THE-CLOCK OPERATIONS. - Between the Navy and AAI, Goa certainly has its hands full trying to expand civil aviation at Dabolim! Kyrie elison! _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] CA/PS 24: RARE INSIDE VIEW OF 'NAVAL' AIR BASE!
On final approach? http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060604/news_1n4miramar.html Airport board poised to pick Miramar as Lindbergh Field replacement By Jeff Ristine STAFF WRITER June 4, 2006 In 1994, when the installation was still a Navy base, a ballot measure pushed by developer Doug Manchester was designed to gauge support for a Miramar airport should the military ever move out. It passed, 52 percent to 48 percent. This time, worried about the perception that it might be trying to force out the Marine Corps, the airport authority kept its proposal mainly within the realm of joint use and not a takeover. Doing so meant the plans had to be built around the F-18, a fighter/attack aircraft that operates from carriers. It delivers 500-and 2,000-pound bombs, and can be equipped with air-to-air or air-to-ground missiles. Miramar has eight squadrons of F-18s. Those 150 planes are the primary cause of noise projected for communities around the airport. Field carrier landing practice at Miramar puts the aircraft into left-hand turns after taking off to the west and looping back over the base and the city landfill. The runway is treated as a carrier deck, where a left turn keeps the carrier's superstructure out of the way. Groups of six to eight aircraft cycle through as many as a dozen touch-and-go takeoffs and landings at a time - 2½ minutes around the racetrack, as Lt. Col. Duane Pinney, Miramar director of safety, puts it. To avoid crossing paths with civilian air traffic, the joint-use plan proposes shifting carrier landing practice to the southernmost civilian runway. It's the pivotal feature of the entire plan, attempting to preserve military operations but with an entirely new set of problems. Operating in airspace the military doesn't normally use today would add more than 15,000 people in Tierrasanta, Scripps Ranch, Mira Mesa, Kearny Mesa and Clairemont to areas of adverse noise impacts, now confined largely to the base. The new airspace for the F-18s also expands the boundaries of a footprint around Miramar designed to depict where a crash - should one occur - is considered most likely. It would add more than 4,000 acres to the Miramar accident potential zone, including more than 580 acres of residential property with a population of more than 8,700. Miramar officers are incredulous that the discussion doesn't simply stop there. Col. Paul C. Christian, commanding officer of the base, also wonders whether the airport planners have considered the wasted fuel and reduced training that would result from even a modest delay for military aircraft. Worse yet would be a jet returning on minimal fuel and then encountering some complication posed by the commercial activity, he said. The right-hand turning patterns envisioned for some military operations would run against long-standing training procedures. A further issue is the bombs and other ordnance stored at East Miramar and transported to the base's Combat Aircraft Loading Area when needed. Miramar officials say the consultants haven't identified a good place to relocate the loading area, which occupies land needed for a new runway. Col. Michael Brooker, director of aviation policy for Marine Corps Installations West, notes that the airport authority often refers to Miramar's 23,000 acres, as if to suggest there's plenty of room for company. The reason we have that is so we have a buffer between what's on the base and what's off the base, so we can do our operations with the least impact to the surrounding communities, Brooker said. - What we need is a similar account of how the Indian Navy is operating at Dabolim. [Oh yeah, that overused excuse of security reasons for not opening up! B.S.] _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] HOTEL PROJECTS HEAD FOR BPO SITES/CITIES
http://www.financialexpress.com/latest_full_story.php?content_id=129498 'India world No. 2 hotels mkt' Asia's second most active market after China is India, with 78 projects containing 12,244 rooms in the pipeline. Of those, 44 percent are near outsourcing office centres in cities like Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] RE: Goa seeks 60 MW additional power from Centre
http://www.newkerala.com/news3.php?action=fullnewsid=4918 The chief minister, interacting with Union Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde during launching of Goa State Load Despatch Centre last evening here, disclosed state's plans to have multiple dams across Mandovi river basin and generate hydro-power. Check this out: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=129423 Hows and whys of hydropower Posted online: Monday, June 05, 2006 at hours IST The government is trying to invite the private sector to develop hydropower stations and add to the existing generating capacity. Although private companies have shown some interest, they are unlikely to set up large projects because of hydro's huge fund requirement and long gestation period. However, on the other hand, the country needs multi-purpose projects like the Bhakra Nangal and Narmada not only to generate power but also to provide water for irrigation. In view of the importance of hydro projects, fe takes a Closer Look at the need and potential for developing this sector. What is the potential for developing hydro projects? India, according to official estimates, has the potential to generate as much as 84,000 mw of hydropower at a 60% load factor, translating into 1,48,700 mw of installed capacity. There is also a potential to produce around 7,000 mw of power from small, mini and micro hydel schemes. In addition, the government has identified 56 pumped storage projects with probable capacity of 94,000 mw. Thus, the total hydro-electric capacity potential has been pegged at around 2.5 lakh mw. However, only 15% of the potential has been harnessed and 7% is under various stages of development. What are the advantages of developing hydro projects? The biggest advantage is that it uses a renewable source of energy. Unlike a thermal project, it does not involve burning of fossil fuel. The water used in rotating turbines can be reused. It produces clean and environment-friendly energy. Second, the cost of generating power is very little. Since it does not involve burning of fuel, inflation does not push up the generating cost, once the project has been developed. Third, storage-based hydro schemes provide attendant benefits of irrigation, flood control, drinking water supply, navigation, recreation, tourism, pisciculture, etc. As most such projects are located in backward areas, they lead to development of interior regions. Facilities concerning education, medical, road communication, telecommunication, etc come up as part of the developmental process. Fourth, hydro projects are used for 'peaking' purposes. What it means is that hydel projects are well-suited to meet sudden increase/decrease in demand for power. The demand for power, it may be mentioned, surges up and down during the course of a day. The ability of hydro projects to quickly start and stop generation is helpful in meeting such fluctuating demand. Unlike hydro projects, it is not possible to quickly start or stop generation from either thermal or gas-based projects. The problem is still more difficult in case of nuclear projects. In addition, the life of a hydro electric project is very long. The first such project, which was developed at Darjeeling in 1897, is still in operation. Projects like Bhakra Nangal have served the nation well, contributing to the success of the 'Green Revolution.' What are the disadvantages of setting up hydro projects? The main disadvantage of large hydro projects is that it involves displacement of a large number of people. It is not easy to rehabilitate people and provide them with adequate livelihood opportunities. The second disadvantage is that such projects destroy flora and fauna, the cost of which cannot be assessed in monetary terms. Third, development of large reservoirs can create ecological problems. For instance, excessive rains and earthquake can create problems and may result in large scale loss of life and property. Such threats will remain. On the non-ecological front, hydro electric project construction is very expensive as compared to thermal or gas-based projects of similar magnitude. It has always been difficult to find long-term finance for developing such projects. The gestation period of developing a hydel project is very long. It needs lot of planning and there is always a fear of geological surprise which may delay completion of project and push up the cost. What is the ideal hydro-thermal mix? According to some experts the ideal hydro-thermal mix for a country like India should be 40:60. It means 40% of the power in the country should be generated from hydel. The share of hydel power was as high as 44% in 1970. However, over the years, despite high potential, its share had declined to 25% in 1998. This imbalance is also taking its toll on thermal generation. The National Policy for Hydro Power Development has pointed out that because of the imbalance, many thermal stations, especially in the eastern and
[Goanet] CA/PS 23: DITTO FOR DABOLIM? (WELL ALMOST!)
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/06/02/opinion/commentary/20_37_536_1_06 txt Who owns MCAS Miramar, anyway? By: DIETMAR E. ROTHE - Commentary for the North County Times Our military has served our government's ambitions well and will continue to do so. Yet much has changed over the last 30 years. Military bases, once established in sparsely populated areas of San Diego County, now find themselves amid high-density urban environments. The military presence is becoming increasingly disruptive to civilian communities, endangering large populations. Relocation of bases should be considered so as to separate peace-loving, tranquil life from the danger-courting activities of our fighting troops, for several reasons: Firstly, military installations are primary targets in any future war fought with strategic intercontinental weapons systems. One nuclear detonation can ruin the day for a million residents. Whereas naval bases in San Diego Harbor cannot easily be relocated, military airstrip operations can be moved to facilities elsewhere. Secondly, military overflights needlessly endanger civilians on the ground. In recent years, we witnessed numerous crashes and crash landings of Navy jets and Marine helicopters. Injury and death of civilians on the ground are just a matter of time. Thirdly, our coastal air corridor is quickly becoming one of the busiest in the nation. Mixing unscheduled military flights with civilian air traffic is needlessly aggravating the danger of midair collisions. Navy and Marine spokespersons have repeatedly stated that joint use of runways by military and civilian aircraft is unacceptable because it endangers student pilots. We must similarly insist that joint use of our air space is unacceptable because it endangers to a greater extent civilian lives. Lastly, the window-rattling thunder from low-flying F-18s and the loud droning of Marine helicopters far exceed the noise disturbance and disruption caused by civilian airliners. After years of extensive search for a larger commercial airport site, the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority chose Miramar as the best location for a new regional airport. It remains the only practical alternative to Lindbergh Field. But the Marine Corps has dug in its heels, refusing to give up any part of MCAS Miramar. We are alarmed by the cocky positions taken by Marine colonels and U.S. representatives. Reps. Duncan Hunter and Darrell Issa and Sen. Dianne Feinstein are pushing for legislation that would block any attempt to turn Miramar over to civilian authorities. But who owns Miramar anyway? Federal property belongs to the people. Constitutionally, the military is sworn to respect and defend us. We should not have to fight the military. We have set aside more than 10,000 square miles of largely unpopulated areas in California, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico that are perfect for military training and maneuvers. Let us pressure Congress into reverting MCAS Miramar to civilian authorities and moving the Marines to those vast open sky regions in the desert Southwest. We don't want to share runways either. We need the entire 23,000 acres at Miramar for commercial air services. Lindbergh Field could be turned over to the Navy to support its fleet operations. Remember, when voting next for your favorite congressperson, do not support those who put military convenience over public need and safety. Cardiff resident Dietmar E. Rothe is an aerospace engineering scientist. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] DOES GOA HAVE THE WHEREWITHAL TO SIZE-UP MEGA PROJECTS ... AND ACT?
http://www.newkerala.com/news3.php?action=fullnewsid=4527 Centre to help Goa set up major power project Panaji: The Centre will extend all possible help to Goa for setting up an ultra-megawatt power project in the state, Union Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said today. Considering the huge tourism inflow in the state, Goa needs to be self-sufficient on all the fronts including power. We will provide all possible assistance for the state to set up the power generation project, he told reporters here. Shinde, who is in Goa to inaugurate the state load despatch centre and projects executed under the Accelerated Power Development and Reform Programme (APDRP) in north Goa, said the state can get loans from the Power Finance Corporation and Rural Electrity Board. Except for a private power project initiated by Reliance Salgaoncar Limited Company, Goa has no power generation project and is dependent on neighbouring states for electricity. We need to plan for the state considering requirements for next 50 years. Planning for power is an important step in this direction, Shinde said. He said power generation from coal can be an option for the state government. Such plants requires 2,000 acres. The Centre can provide the financial assistance, he said. -- Goa seems to be in the extremely fortunate position of having mega projects like this one proposed to it instead of having to take the trouble to propose such ventures to others like the Centre, multilateral funding agencies etc. The question is, does Goa have the ability to size up such imported ideas meaningfully and more importantly act in an appropriate way? My basic contention is that Goa does not have the core competence to run a Transmission Distribution system in electrical energy. Instead it may be the precise opposite namely Theft Disruption! How will a 500 MW system help if we cannot get our internal TD act straight? And the deficit at present is about 50 MW, one tenth of what is being proposed. But in the context of looming power shortages n the country there may be no choice but to start generating our own power somehow. How much of the new power will be exported to other states? How do other rapidly growing urban centres like Bangalore and Hyderabad meet teheir energy shortfalls? Then, what of the environmental impact of coal dust, water (required for cooling) and effluent treatment, clearance of land for construction (2000 acres) plus the inter-state transmission towers in all directions? Finally, what are the costs, timelines and employment prospects? And if outsiders are to be inducted for construction and operation where will they stay and send their children to school and get medical treatment etc? Last but not least what about air connectivity? If Goa is not able to mobilise the intellectual and political will to exorcise the baneful power at Dabolim the benefits if any from megaprojects like the above will always be warped. and suboptimal. That's my guarantee! Cheers. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] RE: In small Goa ...
* G * O * A * N * E * T C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S * Enjoy your holiday in Goa. Stay at THE GARCA BRANCA from November to May There is no better, value for money, guest house. Confirm your bookings early or miss-out Visit http://www.garcabranca.com for details/booking/confirmation. --- Big developmental projects constantly attract local protest, since scenic placid self contained villages react to ceding public and private farm and and green areas to urbanisation and commercial activity, ...In the political race to demonstrate development milestones before an upcoming election, the Congress party sees itself as a victim, paying the price for being more democratic and therefore a soft target for protestors. Activists only come out of the woodwork when the Congress is in power says Congress MLA Jeetendra Deshprabhu, referring to the calm that previous regimes enjoyed. 1. It does seem to be true that in Goa a village perspective tends to prevail over even that of a unified state. The challenge to the state leadership is to truly understand the state's needs (including in the national context) and then try to persuade the affected people who may have to sacrifice in the larger interest of the community. Hopefully, over time every one will get to bear their own fair share of the burden and wont have reason to feel they are beng singled out. 2. I also think the present government is taking the easy way out by saying they are a soft target for protesters because they are more democratic. I dont know how previous regimes dealt with protesters, but the present one was definitely less than transparent and perhaps even mendacious about Mopa airport project, a capstone development project for the state if ever there was one. P.S. I checked the conversion table and found 10,000 sq m is only 2.5 acres. How is this golf course a big development project? A mountain out of a mole hill? _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] CA/PS 21: STONE WALLING .. FROM GOA TO SAN DIEGO!
* G * O * A * N * E * T C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S * Enjoy your holiday in Goa. Stay at THE GARCA BRANCA from November to May There is no better, value for money, guest house. Confirm your bookings early or miss-out Visit http://www.garcabranca.com for details/booking/confirmation. --- http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/05/31/opinion/commentary/19_43_245_30_0 6.txt Military should rethink Miramar stance By: BARRY MICKLEWRIGHT - Commentary for the North County Times With all due respect to Capt. Mike Allen, chief of staff for Navy Region Southwest in San Diego, to all of his colleagues in the Navy and Marines, and to U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-El Cajon, the only logical place to develop a new civilian airport to serve San Diego County is at Miramar, and this can be done with minimal impact upon essential military operations in this area. First, a reminder to Mr. Hunter, that he was elected to serve the interests of all of the people in his district, and that attaching a provision to a defense spending bill that would block the use of any area bases for development of an airport is clearly against the interests of San Diego residents. Capt. Allen says that Miramar is essential to the training of new pilots, yet in his same remarks to the airport advisory panel, he talked about pilot training programs that are conducted at nearby North Island Naval Air Base and Camp Pendleton Marine Base. Surely it would be better for all concerned if pilot training programs could be combined at those two facilities. If Capt. Allen and his Navy and Marine colleagues would only get out of their traditional defensive posture, a position they assume whenever the subject of potential base closures is aired, they would see the substantial cost savings that could be realized by concentrating their operations at North Island and Camp Pendleton. If they handle things right, I'm sure Mr. Hunter and his colleagues in Congress could arrange it so that the expenses incurred in moving from Miramar to North Island and Camp Pendleton would not become Navy or Marine expenses, but be considered part of the overall costs of building a new civilian airport for San Diego County. And if they require a new runway at Camp Pendleton, I'm sure that could be included too! With Lindbergh Field being already so overcrowded, and projections for the future being even more so, it is time for all San Diegans to start working together to get this job done as soon as possible. And by all San Diegans I mean civilians and military personnel, Congress and the military brass. If we can show that we are united in this endeavor, then we can more forcefully request the help of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, President George W. Bush and Congress to help us get this imperative new airport moving forward. Similarities between Miramar/Pendleton-N.Island and Dabolim/Seabird, right? Cheers. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] WHY ARE WE CRYING OURSELVES HOARSE ABOUT DABOLIM?
* G * O * A * N * E * T C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S * Enjoy your holiday in Goa. Stay at THE GARCA BRANCA from November to May There is no better, value for money, guest house. Confirm your bookings early or miss-out Visit http://www.garcabranca.com for details/booking/confirmation. --- http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=129025 Flying fears Are we ready for growing domestic air traffic? Posted online: Thursday, June 01, 2006 at hours IST The sharp increase in domestic air traffic at a number of non-metro airports is a sign of both greater business activity and higher incomes and reflects how demand is pulling in supply of air travel services. The same applies for the low-cost airline phenomenon gaining strength in the country and for innovative pricing offers by competing full-cost service players. But key to all this is the pace of development of non-metro airports and the cost corrections needed to sustain domestic traffic growth. Thanks to substantial easing of the highly regulated environment, air travel is set to become a preferred option. But it calls for rapid growth in airport handling capacities. As low-cost airlines work on a point-to-point service model and quick turnaround time is crucial for maximum utilisation of aircraft, requirements from airport facilities would be that much more. A study conducted by the DGCA of towns and cities exceeding 100,000 and conforming to certain key growth parameters had found clear potential for air services from 92 centres, with an associated set of a possible 2,000 city pair connections. But given the protracted experience in the case of metro airports, concerns arise about the subsequently proposed 35 non-metro airport plans' progress. Any airport modernisation programme calls for far greater transparency, predictability and stability to lower investors' risks and make long-term returns attractive. Besides, structural constraints create a cost bottleneck for domestic airlines. The cost of fuel constitutes a huge 30% of operational costs (against 10-15% in other countries), mainly due to anomalies in taxation across states. Indian players still fare poorly against global ones with higher costs due to fuel, maintenance and airport charges. Another issue is the route categorisation policy forcing airline operators to fly unviable routes, which means they cross-subsidise by charging higher fares on trunk routes. The bottomline is that even as demand is now a given, unless airport development moves fast and the cost structures are corrected, recent growth trends will not be sustainable, nor will it be possible to realise the full potential. Those who can understand English should be able to realise by now that the military (with its spurious security arguments) is a major impediment to the growth of low cost aviation at Dabolim and indirectly at Mopa. Is this not of concern to Goa or not? Cheers. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] WHY ARE WE CRYING OURSELVES HOARSE ABOUT DABOLIM?
* G * O * A * N * E * T C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S * Enjoy your holiday in Goa. Stay at THE GARCA BRANCA from November to May There is no better, value for money, guest house. Confirm your bookings early or miss-out Visit http://www.garcabranca.com for details/booking/confirmation. --- http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=129025 Flying fears Are we ready for growing domestic air traffic? Posted online: Thursday, June 01, 2006 at hours IST The sharp increase in domestic air traffic at a number of non-metro airports is a sign of both greater business activity and higher incomes and reflects how demand is pulling in supply of air travel services. The same applies for the low-cost airline phenomenon gaining strength in the country and for innovative pricing offers by competing full-cost service players. But key to all this is the pace of development of non-metro airports and the cost corrections needed to sustain domestic traffic growth. Thanks to substantial easing of the highly regulated environment, air travel is set to become a preferred option. But it calls for rapid growth in airport handling capacities. As low-cost airlines work on a point-to-point service model and quick turnaround time is crucial for maximum utilisation of aircraft, requirements from airport facilities would be that much more. A study conducted by the DGCA of towns and cities exceeding 100,000 and conforming to certain key growth parameters had found clear potential for air services from 92 centres, with an associated set of a possible 2,000 city pair connections. But given the protracted experience in the case of metro airports, concerns arise about the subsequently proposed 35 non-metro airport plans' progress. Any airport modernisation programme calls for far greater transparency, predictability and stability to lower investors' risks and make long-term returns attractive. Besides, structural constraints create a cost bottleneck for domestic airlines. The cost of fuel constitutes a huge 30% of operational costs (against 10-15% in other countries), mainly due to anomalies in taxation across states. Indian players still fare poorly against global ones with higher costs due to fuel, maintenance and airport charges. Another issue is the route categorisation policy forcing airline operators to fly unviable routes, which means they cross-subsidise by charging higher fares on trunk routes. The bottomline is that even as demand is now a given, unless airport development moves fast and the cost structures are corrected, recent growth trends will not be sustainable, nor will it be possible to realise the full potential. Those who can understand English should be able to realise by now that the military (with its spurious security arguments) is a major impediment to the growth of low cost aviation at Dabolim and indirectly at Mopa. Is this not of concern to Goa or not? Cheese. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] RE: Dabolim not suited for larger aircraft: Francis
* G * O * A * N * E * T C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S * Enjoy your holiday in Goa. Stay at THE GARCA BRANCA from November to May There is no better, value for money, guest house. Confirm your bookings early or miss-out Visit http://www.garcabranca.com for details/booking/confirmation. --- Mapusa MLA Francis D'Souza has stated that Dabolim airport is not suited for larger aircraft, as it did not have a 5-km runway. This is the kind of statement which is made purely on political grounds. Does the gent know what the length of Dabolim runway is? Does he know what the lengths of runways in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore etc are? Does he know what kind of aircraft use all these runways? What disadvantage does dabolim suffer from? _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] RE: Dabolim not suited for larger aircraft: Francis
* G * O * A * N * E * T C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S * Enjoy your holiday in Goa. Stay at THE GARCA BRANCA from November to May There is no better, value for money, guest house. Confirm your bookings early or miss-out Visit http://www.garcabranca.com for details/booking/confirmation. --- Mapusa MLA Francis D'Souza has stated that Dabolim airport is not suited for larger aircraft, as it did not have a 5-km runway. This is the kind of statement which is made purely on political grounds. Does the gent know what the length of Dabolim runway is? Does he know what the lengths of runways in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore etc are? Does he know what kind of aircraft use all these runways? What disadvantage does dabolim suffer from? _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] SO YOU WANNA CHEAP AIR TICKET?
* G * O * A * N * E * T C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S * Enjoy your holiday in Goa. Stay at THE GARCA BRANCA from November to May There is no better, value for money, guest house. Confirm your bookings early or miss-out Visit http://www.garcabranca.com for details/booking/confirmation. --- http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1593065.cms How to find the cheapest air fare? ASHLEY COUTINHO TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ TUESDAY, MAY 30, 2006 12:00:00 AM] This is the story of Raghav and Radha (both Mumbaiites) and how their plans to elope to Delhi turned out to be a non-starter. At first, they thought of escaping via Rajdhani train, but they decided to take the aerial route instead, since they had read in the papers that it was now possible to buy flight tickets priced lower than train A/C fares for the same distance. So they started looking for the cheapest air fares on the internet because online booking is sometimes cheaper. For example, fares on tickets booked through the net are a little lower than those available through customer centres or ticket counters. They also realised that their friend Rinku's information about discounts offered under apex and super-apex fares had been incorrect as most airlines have now switched to dynamic fares. These fares fluctuate depending on the daily market demand and generally, the earlier one books the tickets, the greater is the chance of getting cheaper fares. The basic difference between dynamic and apex fares is that under apex fares, one had to compulsorily purchase the tickets a certain number of days (usually 7, 14, 21 or 28 days) in advance, but there is no such restriction in the dynamic system. Raghav and Radha began their hunt by checking websites of individual airlines. Indian's Easy Fares gave them a clear picture on how dynamic fares work. Easy Fares offer discounts up to 60% on specified sectors and are available under four levels for economy class. For a Mumbai-Delhi flight on June 10, they found that fares increased from Rs 4,270 for level 4 to Rs 7,350 for level 1. Once the seats for a particular level are filled up, the next higher level fare becomes applicable. But their fare for the same flight came down to Rs 3,205 under the newly-introduced unchecked fares, available for a limited number of seats in the economy class in select sectors. This was just the beginning of their journey into the labyrinth of special schemes and offers. Some of the prominent schemes they checked out were: co-branded cards, Sixer and Super Sixer, Fly now, pay later of Air Sahara; King Club of Kingfisher Airlines; One Fare Pass, Go Double Pay Single and Check Fares offer of Jet Airways; and Desh Videsh '06, Super Saver Utsav Plus and Indian Family Fares of Indian. Some airlines, they found, also offer special discounts for personnel in the armed forces, blind persons and cancer patients, while others offer concessional fares to senior citizens, students, etc. They also discovered that night fares and even some afternoon flights were sometimes cheaper than early morning flights. In fact, Jet Airways has a special scheme called Night Saver Flights divided into different classes. Their Mumbai-Delhi flight cost just Rs 2,640 under the H class of this scheme. Next, they checked out websites like travel.indiatimes.com, travelguru.com, ghumo.com and makemytrip.com. Despite the fact that each and every airline was not listed on each of these websites, they got some good bargains. For example, on ghumo.com, they found a flight at Rs 2,680 (Indian) and Rs 2,899 (Jet Airways). After much perusing and musing, they learnt a few home truths. Most airlines may introduce last-minute fares, which may be cheaper than fares bought in advance. Hence, last-minute travel may prove to be more economical at times. A full-service carrier can cost less than a low-cost one on certain days. The promotional and special schemes can be aborted anytime according to the discretion of the airline. For example, Indian's unchecked fares for the Mumbai-Delhi route are only applicable till June 15, '06. Cancellation fees are quite high - usually 50% of the basic fare. There are no discounts for children and so, an adult ticket may sometimes cost you less than that for a child. Some airlines like Indian and Air Sahara offer bidding options, which may get you great discounts. Others offer fare alerts and flight information through mobile alerts and newsletters, which can get you useful data on ticket prices. Lastly, anything is possible, at least theoretically. If you are lucky, you can bag a Re 1 (plus taxes) or Rs 500 (plus taxes) seat on Air Deccan, as the airline says that on any particular day, its first seats are always priced at these rates.
[Goanet] WHAT KIND OF UPGRADE IS IN STORE FOR DABOLIM?
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1582582.cms AAI to invest in non-metro airport modernisation PTI[ SUNDAY, MAY 28, 2006 03:55:46 PM] NEW DELH:The Airport Authority of India will invest about Rs 1,500 crore to modernise at least 10 non-metro airports in the country by 2008. According to sources, AAI is awaiting approval from the Ministry of Civil Aviation on the final list of airports to be covered in the first phase of the non-metro airport modernisation programme. AAI has already identified 12 cities, which include Jaipur, Udaipur, Srinagar, Amritsar, Ambala, Thiruvananthapuram, Vishakapatnam, Mangalore, Nagpur, Goa, Varanasi and Trichy, the sources said. Of these 12 airports, 10 will be modernised using the public private partnership (PPP) model. The air side of the modernisation will be with AAI, which will include modernisation of terminals, parking bays, taxiway and runways. It, however, will be subject to the decision of the committee on infrastructure headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on what kind of a model will be followed for the deveplopment of city side and what kind of facilities could be developed, the sources said. The modernisation of airports have become a contentious issue between the UPA government and its Left allies, who have opposed privatisation process. --- 1. If the total investment planned is Rs 1500 crores then how can Dabolim's share be Rs 500 crores? Unless public private partnership is envisaged and most of the money comes from private parties. 2. According to information made available so far, only airside upgrades have been talked about for Dabolim. This is AAI's responsibility as per the above report. 3. If private parties are out then Dabolim may not be in the 10 airports to be modernised by 2008. End of story. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] CAN SOMEONE BUTTONHOLE HON EDUCATION MINISTER ABOUT THIS?
http://autofeed.msn.co.in/pandorav3/output/News/8fb78e26-e276-424c-b9d3-a3f5 1dfb7213.aspx Parl panel suggests one IIM in each state Source: PTI. New Delhi, May 28: With controversy raging over OBC quota in higher education, a Parliamentary panel has suggested setting up at least one IIM in each state and increasing number of seats in existing ones. Government should create more opportunities for students in the country by opening at least one IIM in each state and increase the number of seats in existing IIMs, the Standing Committee on HRD said in its report. Noting that almost 15 to 20 per cent of the faculty posts were lying vacant in the IIMs, the Committee said the vacancies that would arise due to retirement could always be accounted in advance and steps taken to fill them as soon as it arose. The Committee, therefore, wonders what prevents the IIMs from filling up the vacancies. Interestingly, the Department admits that there is no shortage of trained faculty, it said. Recommending that the Government and the IIMs should ensure that all the faculty positions were filled up at the earliest, it said if the IIMs could not fill the vacancies the Committee may be apprised about the reasons for the delay. The Committee recommended that the government should chalk out a plan in consultation with IIMs to ensure that over a period of time the IIMs become self-supporting and not depend on government for normal functioning. While IIMs at Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Kolkata were generating their own resources for their functioning, government provides financial assistance both under plan and non-plan to IIMs at Indore, Lucknow and Kozhikode. --- Why not an IIM in Goa? Pronto! _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] RE: Goa: A favoured haven .
Goa's deputy chief of police, speaking at a UN conference last month, said Goa has got the tag of 'favoured haven' for paedophiles. However, he added that the state, which receives two million foreign visitors each year, This may not be correct. The general impression is that it is domestic tourists who number about 2 million (i.e. 20 lakhs. Foreign tourists are placed at only about 3-4 lakhs per year. How can the Goa police chief get this number wrong? Strange. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] CA/PS XX: THE MILITARY'S TRUE COLOURS
http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=euLTJbMUKvHb=412 359ct=2494735 It's Miramar By ROB DAVIS Voice Staff Writer Tuesday, May 23, 2006 An airport authority committee chose Marine Corps Air Station Miramar as the best site for a new international airport to replace Lindbergh Field, putting the authority one step away from finalizing the proposal voters will see in November. The final say belongs to the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority's full nine-member board, which will settle the issue at its June 5 meeting. Their decision, spurred by projections that show the city's existing airport will reach its capacity sometime after 2015, will culminate the three-year process that the authority was created to bring to fruition. The heralded solution to San Diego's project air capacity crunch is by no means assured. The Pentagon has vehemently objected to sharing land at the base, and a 1996 federal law prohibits commercial aircraft from using it. And to date, none of San Diego's congressional representatives have shown any support for a commercial airport at Miramar. The uncertainty surrounding the base is reflected in the draft language the committee recommended for the November ballot initiative. It became clear Monday that Miramar may never house a joint-use commercial airport, even if voters approve the move Nov. 7. The 3-1 approval capped off a contentious meeting in a contentious process, where board members openly criticized each other's reasoning. But then there was the Navy, the Marine Corps and board member Tony Young. Officials from both branches rehashed their objections to sharing their bases with commercial aircraft. Between the two -- Capt. Mike Allen, chief of staff at Navy Region Southwest, and Lt. Col. Duane Pinney, Miramar's safety director -- the words unacceptable or unacceptably were used 17 times. That prompted Young, who also serves on San Diego's City Council, to chide a lack of cooperation, saying the military needed to be more open and honest. What I heard was a presentation of what can't be done, Young said. We're looking for a solution here in San Diego. We're growing up. We're not the military-only town we used to be. I didn't hear any recommendations of what you could do as the military. Pinney, in response: We're not paid to support the board. - The military mentality is something else! The trick is to find who they will take orders from. That's all they know. Cheers. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] FLYING BLIND
**The Minister also informed the House that a total of 15655 international and domestic flights have operated at the Dabolim Airport in 2005-06. The passengers handled per day during peak season (November to February) in the Dabolim sector varies from 1153 to 1241 in the international sector and 978 to 2428 in the domestic sector. During lean season(May to September) passengers handled per day is as low as 41 for international and 1141 for domestic sector .** This is the piece meal, idiosyncratic data reportedly provided by the Civil Aviation Minister in the Rajya Sabha to justify the new terminal building at Goa airport. How can you justify anything with this kind of exercise in pulling numbers out of a hat? No trends whatsoever have been presented. It is high time someone did a full Monty on Dabolim civil enclave so that data are made available in international standard format. We need to be able to compare Dabolim with (a) other civil enclaves like Bangalore HAL, Hyderabad Begumpet and Pune Lohegaon; and (b) other mid-ranking airports like Cochin International and Ahmedabad Airport. And while on the subject, I would give an arm and a leg to know what the Mopa airport report had to say about traffic trends at Dabolim. But that may be even more of a state secret than security factors at Dabolim naval air station! How silly. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] IS OBFUSCATION THE NAME OF THE GAME AT DABOLIM?
http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=17975 NEW INTERNATIONAL TERMINAL BUILDING FOR GOA AIRPORT -- 15:41 IST Rajya Sabha There is plan for a new international terminal building and additional parking stands at the Dabolim Airport in Goa. This information was given by Shri Pratel Patel, Minister for Civil Aviation in the Rajya Sabha today. This, he said, would improve the facilities and augment the additional spaces for international operations from Goa. As of now various facilities have been provided in the Goa Airport for international operations within the existing terminal building. The Airports Authority of India has already initiated action for acquiring additional land from the Indian Navy and the State Government for the expansion of the apron and the expansion of the international terminal building complex. **The Minister also informed the House that a total of 15655 international and domestic flights have operated at the Dabolim Airport in 2005-06. The passengers handled per day during peak season (November to February) in the Dabolim sector varies from 1153 to 1241 in the international sector and 978 to 2428 in the domestic sector. During lean season(May to September) passengers handled per day is as low as 41 for international and 1141 for domestic sector .** MC/GK -- Note the way data about Dabolim as been reportedly presented by the Civil Aviation Minister. He starts off well by giving current figures about flights. This can now be compared to the aircraft movements for 1995-96 and 2013-14 given earlier. The updated totals are 8824, 15655 and 21708 respectively in serial order. Very roughly, this implies a near doubling in 10 years and projected growth of only 50% in the next 8 years. That is a CAGR of about 7% earlier vs only about 5% in future. The latter may be too low when the aviation scene (in terms of new airlines and new aircraft) has been growing phenomenally at present. A figure of at least higher than 7% should have been used. Hence, 8% would make it 80% higher than current levels. Then the hon minister switches to passengers handled per day. During the peak season, international passengers average about 1200 per day (plus or minus 50). The swing in domestic passengers is higher -- from about 1000 to 2500 although the latter may reflect the Dec/Jan spike. However, for the off peak period, the information is switched to minima! Why not give ranges to be consistent? International drops off dramatically as a result but it is not clear if this refers only to charter flights or includes international passengers on scheduled domestic flights also. Perhaps the latter maybe even just NRGs! The domestic passengers average holds up reasonably well if you allow for the sharp spike in Dec/Jan. I dont know if the unhomogenised data are due to the civil aviation ministry's lack of statistical sophistication in reporting or military control over Dabolim where this is probably given least importance. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] HERE WE GO AGAIN! [2nd try]
http://www.navhindtimes.com/stories.php?part=newsStory_ID=052314 BJP launches Mopa awareness drive NT News Service 1. The Mandrem MLA, Mr Laxmikant Parsenkar also supported the upgradation of the Dabolim airport but reminded that Dabolim had limitations. He said that very little land is available for the expansion of Dabolim airport and scoffed at the Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Wilfred De Souza's recent announcement that about 7 acres land will be freed for the expansion of Dabolim. Dabolim has its limitations and Goa needs an additional airport, Mr Parsenkar said. What exactly are the limitations? The runway is big enough to accommodate 747s. The terminal is expected to be expanded by the 7-9 acres of land to be released by the Navy. It is the landing and take-off slots which are at a premium in a low cost aviation regime. And this constraint is solely because of the Navy's guile. It may require a political battering ram -- not a feather duster --to achieve a breakthrough on this particular front. 2. The Bharatiya Janata party launched its Mopa airport public awareness campaign in the state by calling for the upgradation of the Dabolim airport but reiterating that Mopa international airport is a must to meet the growing demands of tourism and to boost development in entire Goa. The BJP also urged the people of Goa to throw out the Congress government if it does not re-start work on the proposed Mopa airport soon. North Goa, South Goa is one Goa. If we divide Goa, it will not develop, said the Mapusa MLA, Mr Francis D'Souza at a public meeting at Mapusa on Saturday. Why is the work on re-designing Mopa to function in tandem with Dabolim for the long haul not being undertaken? Why is no one saying anything about traffic sharing in a period of much higher growth than was factored into the original Mopa report? How do the pro-Mopa elements answer the pro-Dabolim faction's fears that Dabolim wll die a natural death once Mopa goes onstream. It's no use Navy people saying that Dabolim will remain a civilian airport till kingdom come. We dont want it to become a VVIP/private jet enclave with ordinary folks shunted to a distant new airport which results in higher air fares. Traffic growth projections and traffic sharing must be discussed upfront and continuously monitored and adjusted for joint viability by an agency sitting in Panjim, not Delhi. The problems of night flights at Dabolim must be meaningfully addressed and not allowed to be an excuse for dilly dallying by the Navy over slots. We need to see some learning in Goa about the aviation scene, for Goa's sake. Over a year has gone since the issue broke and we are still spinning wheels with the same tired arguments. What's the matter? Phew! _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] CIVIL AVIATION MINISTERS LOGIC CUTS SORRY FIGURE
http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=297334ssid=50sid=BUS Govt mulling proposal to give sops to pvt airlines New Delhi, May 23: Government is considering a proposal to give sops to airlines for linking metropolitan cities and small towns, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Praful Patel informed the Rajya Sabha today. In yesterday's TOI there is a story titled Free landing, cheaper ATF at smaller cities. It begins by itemising five year 'holiday' from parking and navigation charges for operating 'feeder services' (presumably from small towns to metros); and a mere 4% levy of duties on ATF (vs 24-38% charged at most airports). But what takes the cake is the following: The airlines that choose to operate flights between small towns spread across India and connect them to major metros will also be offered concessions for overnight parking of planes AT SOME OF THE METROS LIKE MUMBAI AND DELHI, civil aviation minister Praful Patel said. Now the hon Minister never fails to give lip sevice in TV appearances to the need for reducing the concentration of Mumbai and Delhi in the country's air traffic scenario. This is generally placed at a minimum of 50% and could be as high as 70% for the two. All along the talk was about encouraging new airlines to use smaller arports as bases. Now we have a switch which involves incentives to feeder airlines to not only fly to congested metros but park their planes there! What's the big idea? In his heart of hearts the minister seems to subscribe to the old fashioned hub and spoke system of airline route planning. What is needed in India is the point-to-point system of direct low cost flights. Feeder airlines should be prepared to fly to smaller airports near the metros. Thus part of the journey on such airlnes could be by surface transport (car, bus, taxi, train etc). In this way, the metros like Mumbai and Delhi can be bypassed if needed and congestion would be alleviated. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] RE: IDEA: HOW ABOUT A 'QUICK CHANGE CITY' --- AT MOPA![Rev]
My idea is: why not plan for the non-aeronautical part of Mopa as a proto-city for general purposes --- subject to a quick change for specific aeronautical purposes at some point in the future. I dont know if there are any international precedents for this. .. ... ... .. ... ... P.S. In the normal course of urban evolution, an airport is the 'crowning glory' of a growing, prospering city. However, since an airport is increasingly becoming a sort of micro-cosm of a full fledged city, we are proposing in the case of Mopa that we try to grow a city with airport plans providing the germ of the idea. Modularity for scale up purposes and flexibility for the required quick change in future may be some of the keys to this venture. Here is a mechanism (SEZ) which might provide an alternative approach to 'urban' development though perhaps not 'airport' development which is what we have in mind. http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?autono=91976leftnm=4; subLeft=0chkFlg= Sunil Jain: Killing SEZs, making a killing RATIONAL EXPECTATIONS Sunil Jain / New Delhi May 22, 2006 At the outset, let me make it clear I'm not in favour of SEZs as I think they're bad tax policy and a pure real estate play-while the focus is supposedly exports, a unit has to export just one dollar more than the total value of imports, over a period of five years! But the way the government is going around changing the rules is making them so messy that the very purpose of an SEZ, of not having to deal with a bureaucracy, has got defeated. The constantly changing rules, as in the case of the Delhi and Mumbai airport privatisation, also leave the government wide open to being hauled to the courts. Worse, as Commerce Minister Kamal Nath confirmed the other day, it was always clear that if there were any disputes between ministries on rules that had a revenue impact, these would be referred to an empowered Group of Ministers (eGoM)-so Parliament was asked to pass an Act, and developers to submit their plans based on this, while only the government knew fully well the rules could be changed at any point in time! While there's a debate about the minimum threshold for IT SEZs (10 hectares is what the commerce ministry wanted, finance wanted 25, and the eGoM has waived even this in favour of the original built-up area criterion), this column focuses on just the multi-product SEZs, where there is no dispute on the minimum size of 1,000 hectares. Under the rules as they stand today, an SEZ developer will have to use 250 hectares at least for what's called the processing area, which is sealed off from the rest of the SEZ and is a customs-bonded area. In the remaining 750 hectares, the developer can build shopping malls, commercial complexes, hospitals, housing areas, whatever. This is where the real estate play comes in. The developer gets a tax break on all the buildings on the 750 hectares while, if he built a housing/shopping/hospital complex in a non-SEZ area, he wouldn't. But since the housing/hospitals, etc. can be used only for the SEZ, which is supposed to be to boost exports, where's the problem, right? Well, under the rules as they stand, the housing/offices can be leased (they can't be sold, but a 99-year lease is always possible) to non-SEZ people as well! Presumably, after the Act got passed, someone in the government woke up to this, or maybe the tussle was going on and the government decided to get it passed in Parliament anyway-in the case of the Delhi and Mumbai airports also, the Planning Commission figured out the real estate play after the bids had been called for, and fought a huge inter-ministerial battle to get 250 acres or so of surplus real estate knocked off from the projects. In the case of the SEZs, this got passed on to the eGoM. Though the recommendations of the eGoM are yet to be notified and various rules/regulations yet to be modified to reflect this, what the eGoM is reported to have recommended is hilarious, or horrifying, depending upon whether you're an SEZ developer. It was of the view that the 25 per cent processing area be increased to 50, so on the 1,000 hectare area, only 500 hectares can be used for building commercial complexes, townships, malls, and so on. From my point of view, that's a good thing as it reduces the real estate play in the SEZ, but just imagine what that does to developers who've based their profit streams on 750 hectares for this. It gets worse. The eGoM is of the view, again rightly so but far too late, that allowing all commercial complexes/houses and so on to be leased to outsiders is unfair, given that the huge tax breaks were all justified in the name of exports, and so it has put a rider to this. It is of the view that at least 75 per cent of the commercial complexes/houses should be given to people working within the SEZ and the rest to outsiders-that is, the real estate play for the outside world gets reduced to a sixth of what it is right now.
[Goanet] Greenfield airport plans [ET]
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1540178.cms Greenfield airport plans taxi in TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SUNDAY, MAY 21, 2006 12:35:52 AM] NEW DELHI: Kolkata may have a greenfield airport with up to 100% foreign investment, instead of modernising the existing airport under joint venture (JV) route. It is understood that West Bengal and Tamil Nadu are keen to have world-class airports in Kolkata and Chennai at the earliest and they would soon initiate the process of finalising the two projects with the Centre. West Bengal has indicated its desire to have a new world class international airport. Technically, 100% FDI is allowed in greenfield airport projects. Now, it is up to the West Bengal government to take a final decision, a senior government official said. The Centre has made it clear that it would not invest any money in the development of greenfield airports in metros. The Centre will invest in only those new airport projects which are not attractive enough for private parties, for example North East and Sikkim, he said. In these circumstances, depending on the state government's decision, foreign investors may have up to 100% equity stake for the development of greenfield airports in metros. Sources in Civil Aviation Ministry said that development of airports in Kolkata and Chennai would depend on the state support guarantee by the respective government. Before finalising on issues like FDI, states are expected to ensure infrastructural facilities such as land, roads and water connectivity, electricity supply etc, he said. Earlier, speaking at a Conference on Public Private Partnership (PPP) in Infrastructure, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said that the policy is very clear on greenfield airport developments. **Existing airports (owned by Airports Authority of India) are valuable assets and the issue of their modernisation would be tackled on case-to-case basis, he said. ** The government restricted FDI limit up to 49% in the modernisation of Mumbai and Delhi airports, even as 74% FDI is allowed in restructuring and modernisation of existing airports. Then why was Dabolim written off in 2000 when and if a greenfield airport was built in Goa? This silly resolution must be revoked forthwith and Mopa should be re-designed to function in tandem with Dabolim for the long haul. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] DABOLIM UPGRADE ETC ... AND POLITICS
Recently (i.e. just a week ago) like a bolt from the blue it was announced that the Navy had agreed to part with 9 acres of land for a new terminal, aircraft parking etc and that the Centre had agreed to direct (i.e. scheduled) international flights out of it. The announcement was made by someone who was never in the airport picture till now, the redoubtable Willey D'Souza, deputy CM and Tourism Minister who may have done wonders during his current tenure for outbound (i.e. HIS) 'tourism'!. He claimed to have had a meeting with the Civil Aviation Minister, Praful Patel, and got this long pending matter sorted out in a jiffy. Now, as almost everybody knows, both worthies are members of the same political party, the NCP, which is in alliance with the Congress at the centre and in Goa. Strangely enough, Praful Patel himself had gone on record just 3 months ago to say that Dabolim has no scope for expansion and hence Mopa was imperative. Of course, expansion and upgrade may not be the same thing. It may be possible to have the latter without the former. In fact, the former may not even be necessary since Dabolim's runway is big enough for the 747. 'Expansion' of the civil enclave even by 9 acres is not such a big deal. Anyway, it does seem that the whole announcement was just a part of party politics. The NCP is posturing for more mileage in the next elections in Goa and the Civil Aviation Minister is playing along with the local party's strategy. The Congress has responded with internal patch up moves and grand plans for going it alone etc. This may be just the kind of sham activity that the Goa govt is a victim of simply because it cant grab the Dabolim nettle firmly once and for all. Everything suffers because of this fundamental weakness in the government. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] RE: IDEA: HOW ABOUT A 'QUICK CHANGE CITY' --- AT MOPA!
My idea is: why not plan for the non-aeronautical part of Mopa as a proto-city for general purposes --- subject to a quick change for specific aeronautical purposes at some point in the future. I dont know if there are any international precedents for this. The nearest thing I can think of is in our own backyard viz Karwar/Seabird! Here we have a 'mammoth naval base' under development minus a commensurate air defense system of its own i.e. an air station. Plans for the latter suddenly went underwater when the Dabolim issue turned red hot a few months ago. The Seabird air station will probably take shape only when the Dabolim situation is under full control. This may not be the same as the quick change plan we have in mind. It could simply be called an empty core or fill in the blanks strategy. Cheers! _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] IDEA: HOW ABOUT A 'QUICK CHANGE CITY' --- AT MOPA!
Here is an article about the plans for the new Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL): http://www.expresstravelworld.com/200605/management03.shtml Project Report Hub, spoke and wheel The Garden City has once again risen to the occasion. It is grooming itself for a favourable travel climate and its latest strategy is the new international airport. Priya Krishnaswamy presents a status report Here is what it says about the facilities under cnstruuction: One can safely assume that the new airport will provide for the huge growth expected in Bangalore. The new international airport will then have the capacity to cater to major delegations fully justifying an international convention centre as part of the airport city in Devanahalli. The master plan for the airport is prepared in line with current International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards and recommendations; and in tune with the IATA guidelines and AAI requirements. Phase 1 of the airport will include a passenger terminal, . airside road system, two-way access road, rescue and fire fighting facilities, airline support facilities, fuel farm, terminal parking, administration and maintenance buildings, ground equipment maintenance area, ... and boundary walls. All these plans are in accordance to environment-friendly guidelines. The airport will consume solar energy and energy produced by natural materials thereby minimising non-replaceable energy and reducing running costs. The Environment Management Systems comprises specific environmental management plans in addition to project-specific environmental management measures. These measures would respond to issues such as the appropriate use of land planning in response to the airport and related cumulative air quality, water quality and biodiversity issues. The environmental management of the airport would be consistent with relevant Indian laws and international standards (ISO 14000 series). Of the total site area of 4,300 acres, around 2,000 acres will be occupied by runways, terminal buildings and air traffic control towers. The remaining land will be used for other structures including the state government's hardware technology park, extended air cargo terminals and cold storage facilities for horticulture products. The surrounding areas are also to be used for other recreational and hospitality related developments. The three kilometre long site shall be developed to house aeronautical and other activities. These shall complement the airport in addition to the substantial landscaped areas. There will also be a star hotel catering to domestic and international travellers, service apartments in close proximity to the office park and convention centers. The fundamentals The airport, designed by Kaufmann and Van der Meer Planer AG of Switzerland, will be cosmopolitan and will include a range of premium office space, retail, entertainment and hospitality services. While the civil engineering and construction work is taken care of by Larsen Toubro, the operations and maintenance services are currently being negotiated between BIAL and Unique Zurich Airport. BIAL has a contract with Siemens Industrial Solutions and Services Group (IS) and Siemens Ltd India for equipping the airport with adequate technical systems. Business travellers visiting Bangalore for MICE events need not enter the city [of Bangalore] at all. My idea is: why not plan for the non-aeronautical part of Mopa as a proto-city for general purposes --- subject to a quick change for specific aeronautical purposes at some point in the future. I dont know if there are any international precedents for this. Perhaps our eminent NRG gurus of goanet can enlighten us on this aspect. This is just brainstorming, OK? What have we got to lose except our ignorance? Cheers. P.S. The space for for future aeronautical purposes can be conserved as park/waste/scrub land or whatever. A windfarm for electricity generation, anyone? :) _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] CA/PS XIX: WHEN 'JOINT USE' IS A NEW OPTION
http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=euLTJbMUKvHb=412 359ct=2461873 Study: Miramar, Pendleton Feasible By ROB DAVIS Voice Staff Writer Wednesday, May 17, 2006 Joint-use airports shared by civilians and the military would work at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, but would be problematic at Naval Air Station North Island, according to a detailed analysis released Tuesday. Building two new runways and terminals at Miramar and Camp Pendleton would not pose a safety risk or compromise the military's mission, the airport authority study said, rebuking military officials' repeated refrain that joint-use will not work at any local base. The 2,800-page study, estimated to cost between $2.5 million and $3 million, culminated the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority's site-selection analysis that has been underway since the authority's creation in 2003. With technical data now complete for five sites -- Miramar, Camp Pendleton, North Island/Lindbergh Field, Boulevard and Imperial County -- none has emerged as a perfect alternative to alleviating capacity constraints projected to arise sometime around 2015 at the existing airport, said Thella Bowens, the airport authority's president and chief executive officer. But supporters of putting a new international airport at Miramar -- with dual runways and room to expand -- used the analysis to boost their cause. Authority board member William D. Lynch said the study confirms what we have thought all along. Miramar, he said, is the only site that will work. But the military has shown no willingness to share Miramar or any other base, saying that five rounds of Pentagon base closures have affirmed the region's base structure. Airport authority officials say they would compensate the military for building an airport on a base. Spurred by U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-El Cajon, Congress is moving to back up the military. The House of Representatives approved a $512 billion Pentagon spending bill last week that included a prohibition of shared use. The bill is being debated in the Senate. The analysis does not outline how the authority might obtain the military land it proposes to use, and a Navy spokeswoman said the voluminous analysis doesn't change the military's objections. Bowens defended the study at a Tuesday press conference, calling it money well-spent. She dismissed questions about the House provision as irrelevant, saying it was a policy issue for the authority's board to consider. The authority's board is expected to make a decision on a site when it meets June 5. Voters go to the polls Nov. 7 to approve or reject the choice. Several board members contacted for comment said they were still digesting the voluminous report, which was released to the media Tuesday. A look at the three sites' analysis: Miramar The study calls a joint-use airport at Miramar feasible. But it would be a groundbreaking effort. Though military and commercial aircraft share airports in Honolulu and Yuma, Ariz., none has operations as complex as what's proposed at Miramar, said Gregory R. Wellman, vice president of Ricondo Associates, the authority's Chicago-based technical consultant. The complexities make Miramar's noise impacts greater than any other site under consideration. F-18 pilots practicing their aircraft carrier landings would be forced to fly a mile south of the base over Clairemont Mesa, Kearny Mesa and Tierrasanta, subjecting more than 18,000 people to noise above 65 decibels, the Federal Aviation Administration's noise threshold. Beyond that, studies show continual exposure to aircraft noise poses a health risk. Noise would impact about 14,000 people more than the base's current operations. The analysis says 10,765 homes would be affected. That figure exceeds the criteria used to exclude other sites from consideration during the site-selection process. But if the F-18 training was shifted elsewhere, aircraft noise would impact less than 10 residents, Wellman said. Under the Miramar concept, two 12,000-foot runways -- separated by a terminal -- would be built south of the base's existing runways. Both would overlap Interstate 15 near its intersection with Highway 163, causing about five miles of Interstate 15 to be shifted east. That's estimated to cost about $650 million. Turning Miramar Road into a six- to eight-lane freeway would cost another $180 million, according to the analysis. The analysis doesn't forecast any growth near the base. Airport-related businesses, it says, would occur primarily through redevelopment of existing commercial and industrial land nearby. The total price tag: $6.9 billion to $7.7 billion. That includes $900 million to $1.7 billion mitigate its impacts to sensitive sage scrublands, wetlands and vernal pools. -- A couple of points emerge from this report: 1. Joint use is perhaps comparable to our civil enclaves in India of which
[Goanet] QUO VADIS DABOLIM ( MOPA)?
http://online.wsj.com/google_login.html?url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Far ticle%2FSB114782696420554892.html%3Fmod%3Dgooglenews_wsj Airports Start to Feel the Sting Of Airline Cost-Cutting Efforts By Scott McCartney The new terminal at Toronto's Pearson International Airport features soaring ceilings, terrazzo floors and millions of dollars of modern art -- helping to make it one of the most expensive airports in the world for airlines and passengers. Then there's the new terminal at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. Gates have no bathrooms, no bridges linking passengers directly with planes and only eight seats for each planeload of people. Among the few amenities: some green plastic plants and a few pictures of windmills. The same economic forces in the air-travel business that have created buy-your-own box lunches in coach and fully ... --- So which way is the Dabolim upgrade headed? From the talk of aerobridges etc its not the latter (Schipol)! Neither is Mopa with its 5000 acres, A380 runway etc etc (with Dabolim reserved for VVIPs and perhaps a growing fleet of business jets). Why doesnt Goa get it when it comes to aviation matters? Hmmm. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] RE: BIRTHDAY BASH FOR CHURCHILL ALEMAO
Mr Alemao depends heavily on his beloved wife (who was rescued miraculously from the jaws of death following a brief illness) his highly educated well mannered, well cultured and well placed daughters (one is married and moved to Cansaulim the other will follow suit in October 2006 and move to Cuncolim) and an only son (now in Australia) to receive their love care and concern for[Godfrey Gonsalves] On one point, possible not in your account, did Alemao not recently travel to help his daughter take up a university place in the UK? I am sure your research could even tell us which university was found acceptable to discerning Churchill! [Cornel da Costa] I dont know about the daughter's UK university, but according to the newspaper advert in HERALD, the son, Savio, is studying for his commercial pilot's licence in Australia. Churchill seems to know where the economic fruits can be had for the plucking in future! Who knows, the boy might become Goa's Tony Fernandes (of AirAsia fame) one day. Cheers. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] RE: Goanet Reader: Of Goans, Indians and foreigners: Goa's racism and reverse-racism
I saw the truncated version of this piece in HERALD about 10 days ago. The following part had been summarily deleted perhaps due to shortage of space: ... 'neutral' and have adequate barriers in place to protect their unique identities. While there is no going back on being a part of India, Goa is also distinctly 'not Indian', as everyone -- including the 'Indians' -- agrees. A start can be made by asking the navy and army to withdraw from Goa and make it a neutral, peace zone as Goa was during the Second World War and even earlier, during colonial times, when the Napoleonic wars were going on between the English and French. It can also become an 'offshore' banking haven within India. All of which will also add value to 'Destination Goa'. Finally, like in Switzerland, things will become so expensive, it will no longer be possible for Goans to afford living in Goa and some of us may have to move to Maharashtra or Karnataka, as is also already happening. .. Be that as it may, the article is a bit difficult to digest because it switches back and forth between pro and anti foreigner and pro and anti Indian several times. I decided to use a 2x2 matrix of 'pro' and 'anti' rows against 'Indian' and 'foreign' columns to map the author's points. This analysis revealed that the maximum coverage was about pro-Indian and anti-Indian. Pro-foreigner was comparable to the other two but anti-foreigner was very nominal. In the 'pro-Indian' quadrant the main point was that GTDC has been aggressively marketing Goa to the domestic tourists the main USP being Goa's unique (foreign!) identity. In the 'anti-Indian' quadrant the main point is about the impending loss of Goa's identity. The main spearhead of this danger is ascribed to the migrant category backed by local politicians for vote bank purposes. In the 'pro foreigner' quadrant there is a reference to Goans who have opted for foreign passports such as Portuguese and British. Some of the former are said to continue to stay in Goa. In the 'anti-foreigner' quadrant the reference is briefly to some reverse racism. Given the foregoing analysis and the concluding snippet reproduced above, some points seem worth considering: 1. What is the role of the armed forces in this scenario since the author has proposed that they should 'withdraw'? The armed forces are by definition opposed to foreigners since their role is to defend the nation's territorial integrity. And yet, they were the ones who opened up Dabolim to (no doubt peaceful) charter flights 2 decades ago! I personally feel it would be a good thing for at least the Navy to withdraw from Dabolim so that more foreigners can visit Goa than at present. Consider that Goa has an effective population of about 4 million with 1.5 million permanent and 2.5 million transient. Of the latter 2 million are Indian and 0.5 million 'foreign'. But as we have seen above the 0.5 million may consist of (1) actual foreign tourists and (2) VFRs (Goans with foreign nationalities 'visiting friends and relatives'). Let's say the ratio is 50:50. So the actual foreign tourists may be only about 5% of the total population max! There may be no harm in boosting this figure through international scheduled flights, more charters etc. Although perceptions differ, they may be more inclined to value Goa's foreign identity and help to preserve it (to the extent local government is up to the task developmentally) than Indians esp uneducated/unskilled migrants9 who are however indispensable for the increasing amounts of menial work). 2. There may be some reverse racism among Goans with foreign nationalities not just local people of Goa. I met one couple retired in Portugal who seemed to be against an influx of WASP-like people. We have also heard the diatribes on goanet against louts of various nationalities. 3. The focus of the marketing campaign of GTDC may have to be sharpened and made more discriminating in its choice of target segment(s). 4. I whole heartedly agree that the unique identity of Goa must be conserved and propagated in these changing times. But as mentioned above the government must be fully geared up to this challenging task. Perhaps it would help if the armed forces' shadowy presence could somehow be eliminated as Zuzarte himself suggests and the government could focus on its real role with full transparency and accountability to people. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] CA/PS XVIII: WE'RE ALL PATRIOTIC BUT ....!
* G * O * A * N * E * T C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S * Enjoy your holiday in Goa. Stay at THE GARCA BRANCA from November to May There is no better, value for money, guest house. Confirm your bookings early or miss-out Visit http://www.garcabranca.com for details/booking/confirmation. --- http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-airport15may15,1,6 960998.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-californiactrack=1cset=true Airport Plan May Pit Navy Against San Diego Civilians By Tony Perry, Times Staff Writer May 15, 2006 SAN DIEGO - In describing the economic and social relationship between the Navy and the San Diego region, the secretary of the Navy last week reached for a business comparison. The Navy has been the anchor tenant of the city and county of San Diego for many, many years, Donald Winter said. ADVERTISEMENT If so, the two sides seem headed for the biggest landlord-tenant dispute in their history, over the issue of a new civilian airport. For half a century, civic leaders have said the region's economic future is imperiled by an airport that is convenient to downtown but woefully undersized. But finding a site for a new airport is an exercise in NIMBYism. Now a consensus appears to be coalescing around the idea that, if San Diego is to replace Lindbergh Field, the new airport will have to be at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station, North Island Naval Air Station or Camp Pendleton, all of which have runways and lots of open space. Miramar, smack in the middle of the city, is the clear favorite. The mantra is joint use for civilian and military aircraft, even though the Navy and Marine Corps have repeatedly, emphatically, unequivocally, rejected the idea. Today, the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, created in 2001 to slice the Gordian knot, is to release its analysis of the three military sites. The authority has set a June 5 deadline to pick a site that could be submitted to voters in November. Technically, the vote is only advisory, but if voters say yes to a site, the airport authority will start gathering the billions of dollars needed to build a new airport. Some local officials believe that, if the public endorses, say, Miramar, the military will cave in or Congress will order the military to accept the joint use concept, which is in limited use at other military bases. So when Winter visited here, part of his mission was to convince the locals that they are wasting their time on Miramar, North Island and Pendleton. The debate will only create a lot of collateral damage between the Navy-Marine Corps team and the citizens of San Diego, Winter told several hundred members of the San Diego Military Advisory Council assembled for breakfast at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, where the roar of planes from Lindbergh could be heard. Steve Erie, a professor of political science at UC San Diego who thinks joint use is worth considering, said the city and the military seem to be playing a game of chicken. There is no indication that Winter's comments changed any minds on the authority, where the majority appears to favor Miramar. When I got into this three years ago, we were looking for the best location, said authority member William Lynch. Now I realize that Miramar is the only location. It has 23,000 acres; we need, at most, 5,000. Through nearly all of its history, San Diego has depended on the infrastructure kindness of strangers. Without Los Angeles International Airport, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, San Diego County would not be nearly as populous or prosperous, Erie said. While San Diego has fiddled, other areas have built airports that can accommodate international passenger flights and large-scale cargo flights. Lindbergh Field is a quarter of the size of airports in Oakland, St. Louis, Cleveland and Tampa, Fla., each of which serves regions of about the same size. Lindbergh Field, with 200,000 arrivals and departures annually, is the busiest one-runway airport in the country. At some point, it will reach capacity. Hemmed in by the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Lindbergh lacks room for a second runway or a longer one. At 9,400 feet, the runway cannot accommodate planes bound for the markets or tourist destinations of Asia. .. ... ... .. ... .. Winter, a former president of Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Missiles System sector, repeated the theme that decades of Navy and Marine Corps brass have sounded: Mixing jets and helicopters with commercial airlines is too dangerous and would hurt military readiness. The safety issue and mission implications are just overwhelming, he said. .. ... ... .. ... ... We've just got to
[Goanet] MINISTRY GUILTY OF SWITCHING DASHBOARD DIALS MIDWAY?
* G * O * A * N * E * T C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S * Enjoy your holiday in Goa. Stay at THE GARCA BRANCA from November to May There is no better, value for money, guest house. Confirm your bookings early or miss-out Visit http://www.garcabranca.com for details/booking/confirmation. --- http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=14203832 Aviation sector may log 40% growth Saturday, 13 May , 2006, 11:15 New Delhi: The Minister for Civil Aviation, Praful Patel, today said the domestic aviation traffic was expected to record a growth of 40 per cent during the current year. Addressing the Consultative Committee meeting of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Minister said while growth during 2005 was 26 per cent it was 20 per cent during the previous year. With this significant growth rate the Ministry is focussing on redistributing air traffic across the country, said Patel. The latest figures available with the Government shows that during April-February 2005-06, domestic aircraft movement increased by 15 per cent as compared to the same period during the previous year. The airports that witnessed major growth in domestic aircraft movements include Amritsar (293.6 per cent), Hyderabad (47.1 per cent), Vishakhapatnam (40.3 per cent), Delhi (24.1 per cent), Cochin (24 per cent) and Bangalore (24 per cent). Low-cost airlines Official sources indicate that the main reasons for increase in growth rate were start of new low cost airlines and increase in number of sectors being operated by Air Deccan. The Government is taking a number of steps to give a boost to the sector. Official sources indicated that the proposed civil aviation policy is likely to provide a host of incentives to airlines operating on regional routes from a single metro airport. --- 1. Note how this report starts by talking about domestic traffic growth rates (presumably passenger traffic) then switches to aircraft movements as in the case of Dabolim. 2. Note that a 15% growth in aircraft movements in 2005 seems to translate into a 26% growth in passenger traffic. 3. Note that among the airports with highest growth rates in aircraft movements we have civil enclaves like Hyderabad, Vishakhapatnam and Bangalore. Bangalore may be ralatively low because it may be at saturation point. Somehow Goa is not able to even match that! No demand or as is more likely a squeeze on supply. 4. What incentives, if any, is the civil aviation policy considering for boosting night flights by low cost carriers? That is what Goa would particularly need since no other avenues seem to be available given the Navy's obdurate stance at Dabolim. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] DABOLIM'S DUBIOUS DATA?
* G * O * A * N * E * T C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S * Enjoy your holiday in Goa. Stay at THE GARCA BRANCA from November to May There is no better, value for money, guest house. Confirm your bookings early or miss-out Visit http://www.garcabranca.com for details/booking/confirmation. --- Dabolim Airport: Centre Agrees for direct Flights. -Dabolim Airport to be expanded very soon (Work starting from next week). -Indian Navy has agreed to provide nine acres of land for enhancing parking bays and constructing parallel taxiways there. -Dabolim Airport will have a new terminal on the northern side (may soon be known as North and South Terminal as in London Gatwick etc) and will have four aerobridges and would be able to handle more aircraft simultaneously. -Dabolim received 690 charter flights last year and this year already touched 720. -Year 1995-96, a total of 8,824 flights received (Intl.+Domestic), the projected figures for the year 2013-14 is 22,288. -A housing colony close to the airport is also proposed to be shifted with the sate Government providing alternative site. -Present 4-5 aircraft parking bays would be expanded to house at least 10 planes- four A-320's and six ATRs. -Navy proposed that civilian air-traffic could freely operated between 6pm to 6am as they did not use airspace during that period. -Dabolim is the only way of entry by air to Goa and it will be upgraded into a first class airport- says Willy. -High paying tourists have asked for direct flights. The Minister has also agreed that not only charter but also scheduled flights be permitted at Dabolim. -Willy also informed that an additional Sharjah-Goa flight will soon be introduced. - Few Airlines have expressed interest to start flights to Goa. Among them are the Condor Airlines-Frankfurt-Goa, British Midland for a Manchester-Goa flight, Air Arabia, Virgin, Emirates etc --- 1. I thought the present terminal was on the North side. Then how can a 'new terminal' be built there? Google-earth watchers pls help clarify. 2. All this time we were being fed data about 'passengers' at Dabolim. Now we are being told about 'aircraft movements'. To convert to passengers we need to know the figure for the average plane load. This depends on the size of the average plane. 3. Furthermore it is really strange that the data given go back to 1995-96 and are projected to 2013-14. But there is no reference to current figures for comparison! What are the growth rates in the past and in the future? 4. The aircraft movement data I have are those provided by the Navy. They relate to the period 1996-97 to 2003-date (Jan/Feb 2003?). The Navy's figure of 6862 for 1996-97 represents a sharp drop from the 8824 for 1995-96 given above. Why is that? Are different entities cooking up different data or did the Navy put some sort of a squeeze on civilian flights in 1996-97? If so, why? 5. In the above report, the emphasis seems to be on foreign tourists. Hence, international flights and charter flights should be on the upswing. Then why is the additional aircraft parking space being built to cater to domestic fleets including A320s and ATRs! What about space for wide-bodied jets? 6. What is being done to expand night flights as urged by the Navy? This will require manning of counters by AAI and airlines, changing of hotel check in times by HASG, availability of taxis by the taxi unions, and most importantly, starting of night flights by airlines. Who is coordinating all these moves? Or will night flights be a convenient cop out for the Navy to claim underutilisation of Dabolim and continue training flights during prime daylight hours? 6. Which housing colony is proposed to be shifted? Is it private or Navy? Just a few doubts about the above data. Cheers. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] WILL GOA EVER BE ABLE TO COMPETE FOR ITS FAIR SHARE?
* G * O * A * N * E * T C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S * Enjoy your holiday in Goa. Stay at THE GARCA BRANCA from November to May There is no better, value for money, guest house. Confirm your bookings early or miss-out Visit http://www.garcabranca.com for details/booking/confirmation. --- http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1028491 Airlines are happy with pie in the sky Praveena Sharma What commercial logic is driving businessmen to aim for a piece of the Indian sky? There is still a huge untapped potential in this sector. Today, all Indian airlines put together are serving only around 25 million passengers annually in a country with a population of over 1,000 million. They are catering to only 2.5% of the population. Singapore Airport alone handles over 32 million passengers while Europe's largest low-cost airline, RyanAir, flies over 38 million passengers. So, you can imagine the potential that is waiting to be tapped in India, says Air Deccan managing director GR Gopinath. According to figures put out by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), India's air traffic in the domestic sector grew from 19.5 million in the last fiscal (2004-05) to 25 million this fiscal. This is a growth of 28%. And, according industry players, this is just the beginning. They say this level of growth is sustainable for at least the next five years. CAPA chief executive Kapil Kaul says that the current average margin in the aviation industry ranges from 4% to 8%. Indian companies, however, are still far away from profitability. Except for Jet, which has been consistently making profits since its inception, none of the others are making profit, says Kaul. Industry experts say that operating margins in the airline business do not tend to be huge, but on high volumes even small margins translate into substantial profits. And these profits are proportional to the shortfall in capacity. Most airlines make their best profits when this gap between demand for airline seats exceeds supply. At present, India is passing through that phase. Rising income is swelling demand for air travel. Airlines are trying to fill the supply gap by expanding their seat capacity. Over the last one year, Indian carriers have ordered over 300 aircraft. Despite such orders, India's fleet strength would still lag behind China's fleet of 1,000 aircraft. One result has been a pushback in the breakeven dates of many start-ups. Take the case of SpiceJet, which was expecting to break even with 7-8 aircraft. Now that competition has intensified, its gestation period has got stretched. According to Air Deccan's CFO Mohan Kumar, it takes about one year for any particular flight route to become profitable. Air Deccan currently makes money on only 60 of its 250 flight[routes]s. -- Let's hope Goa is one of them! Let's also hope that supply catches up with demand on this route. But for that to happen the Navy has to release its stranglehold on Dabolim. Now who can crack that expeditiously? _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] OFF TOPIC: BE FIRST TO CAST CYBER VOTE RE TEACHING MATERIAL!
I recently submitted a write-up titled Corporate Innovation Paradigm (appended below for reference) about a management book to amazon.com. The link to the web page is: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0073023019/ref=cm_cr_dp_pt/104-4773804-2267939?%5Fencoding=UTF8n=283155s=books More information about the book's contents is available at the publisher's site which is as follows: http://catalogs.mhhe.com/mhhe/viewProductDetails.do?isbn=0073023019 This is to specially request you as fellow goanetters to visit the amazon.com link given above and cast your vote at the end of the write-up as to whether it was helpful or not. This will give a useful boost to the cyber feedback process. Thanks, as always, for your valuable support in my intellectual endeavours. - Corporate Innovation Paradigm Since the book *Managing Product Service Development: Text Cases* by Stefan H. Thomke has become available for academic purposes it may be of interest to think about how this material on the veritably hot topic of corporate innovation can be used. To briefly summarize the book's contents, it is based on the author's academic and case research and consists of three modules. Each of these is made up of an introductory text, a set of cases/notes and a collection of published articles. Thus there are 3 chapters, 16 cases, two notes and 11 articles altogether. It may be mentioned that the book is accompanied by an *Instructor's Manual/Cases* which contains detailed teaching notes for the cases as well as other background information for use by teachers of product and service development courses. Three types of user strategies can be identified. These may be listed for working purposes as sampling, full court press and springboard strategies, respectively. The sampling strategy would consist of adoption of individual cases (and to a lesser extent, articles) from the book. For instance, the faculty of one well known B-school tried out nearly half the cases in the book while the latter was still in its formative stages. Such trials were conducted in several academic areas including technlogy, marketing, policy, organisational behavior etc. In these instances most of the cases became long term features of the courses that were involved. A few other cases were also considered for use but were eventually not adopted for a variety of reasons centred on the common idea of resistance to change. To the best of my knowledge, these reasons did not reflect at all on the high quality of the cases in the book. It should be mentioned that the cases which were used may not have been taught in the comprehensive way described in the teaching notes. But wherever the sessions were rated (as in executive development programs) these were indeed of a consistently high order. The full court press would consist of adoption of the book's philospohy and structure, pretty much as is. Here it is necessary to point out that the three modules are sequenced so as to give pride of place to the author's academic forte (in terms of a separate book length treatment, articles and case research) viz experimentation for product and service development purposes. This is followed by a module which is anchored to a significant extent in the author's collaborative work on the customer interface with Eric von Hippel. Finally, the third module can be said to consist of a number of other neoclassical articles in the field in conjunction with the author's cases. Thus we seem to have an experimentation- and democratization-centric paradigm of corporate innovation. The challenge here (for example in the case of the B-school mentioned above) would be for an individual faculty or a cohesive faculty team to adopt the truly multi-functional perspective that is necessitated by the author's work. The ability to implement this strategy might be a function of the dynamics of academic bureaucracies at individual institutions. The third level of usage, which we label as springboard would consist of adaptation of the materials available including in books like Thomke's *Experimentation Matters* and Eric von Hippel's *Democratizing Innovation* and several others to fashion a new course which will be on the leading edge of teaching and research on the subject just as the present one is today. For example, what would it take to develop products and services with customerization (including via experimentation in the sense in which Thomke defines it) right off the bat, say for base-of-pyramid (BOP) markets? At the very least this perspective might lead to a 5-10 year search for more case research sites which provide the necessary insights in an enlightening way just as the present book has done. Perhaps we can expect more investment in intellectual capital in the domains of modules 2 and 3 of the book with fine tuning of module 1 in future. In short,
[Goanet] MILITARY INTELLIGENCE TAKES FLIGHT
Lt. Col. SM D'Souza (retd) has chimed in again in HERALD, this time with a full length op-ed page article titled (inaccurately, in my opinion) Moping over Mopa and Dabolim. Some quick reactions to his well structured argument: 1. Navy's presence at Dabolim is needed: A very weak (bordering on pathetic) justification of Dabolim's security purpose. 2. The Navy can be more magnanimous: A frank admission from a military person that the Navy's dithering over land allotment for civil aviation is unjustified. 3. The need for Mopa airport in addition to Dabolim: Present traffic is pegged by the author at 1.37 million pax p.a. which is about right, maybe 10% on the lower side. He projects growth to 10 million in 28 years. This works out to about 7% CAGR, the standard global rate used for aviation industry growth. Further he says, even 18 years from now, Dabolim will handle 3 million passengers p.a. According to recent news reports, southern India is expected to witness 20-30% traffic growth p.a. over the next few years. At just 19-25% the 3 m figure will be reached in only 2 or 3 years (not 18)! The author needs to go back to the drawing boards on this factual account. 4. Why not the twin airport concept for Goa?: Sure, why not? He blames the Government for not educating the people about this. This is only partly correct. See below. 5.Conclusion: He ends saying Let there be a sense of urgency in our planning and execution of the twin airport complex. Amen. But why is the military sitting on its haunches instead of getting a move on when civil aviation is booming all around? That's the million dollar issue in Goa. Cheers. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] CA/PS XVII: TIPS GOA COULD CONSIDER
http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=euLTJbMUKvHb=412 359ct=2371819 There is Another Side to the Story By THELLA BOWENS Thursday, May 4, 2006 The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority is pleased to see your innovative online publication covering the San Diego region's airport site selection process. However, it is important for the region to understand the full picture when considering the opinion piece by San Diego County Taxpayers Association Treasurer Harvey Goodfriend in your April 11 edition. Mr. Goodfriend gave the airport authority low marks for several elements of its Airport Site Selection Program. In fact, the program has been successful in involving residents throughout the San Diego region in a robust dialogue about what kind of air transportation system we want to leave our children and future generations. The program has won national and local awards for the quality, openness and inclusiveness of its public outreach efforts. Much as the voiceofsandiego.org presents journalism with a fresh new, online-only approach, the airport authority has also sought new, balanced and innovative ways, along with more traditional approaches, to engage the public in this important issue. Our efforts have included: -- Online dialogues involving hundreds of regional residents -- Community town hall meetings throughout the county -- An interactive Web site at www.san.org/siteselection -- A series of aviation education forums -- Public meetings of the airport authority board -- A Public Working Group composed of diverse stakeholders whose meetings are open to the public -- Informational print and video materials -- Public outreach at street fairs and other community gatherings county-wide Regarding the six principles for which Goodfriend offered low marks, it will ultimately be up to county voters to decide how effective the airport authority has been in these areas. But there is another side to the story. Principle 1: Maximize Use of All Existing Airports A multi-airport solution -- using San Diego International Airport (SDIA) in concert with a supplemental airport -- has indeed been given serious consideration by the airport authority. This idea was discussed, debated and explored by the Public Working Group as well as by airport authority staff, consultants and the airport authority board. However, after considerable analysis, discussion and debate, the board voted not to pursue the concept of a supplemental site in North County. Why is this concept viewed as unworkable for the San Diego region? Unlike Washington, D.C., Chicago and New York, San Diego is not an air transportation hub. We are an origin-and-destination market, with very few connecting flights -- and the additional air service they might generate. Also, costs for airlines to use a new supplemental airport would be steeper than using Lindbergh Field because of the debt required to build it. Why then would airlines be motivated to serve the new facility? Forcing airlines to a new facility is difficult, if not impossible, as exhibited by the failed experience at Montreal's old Mirabel Airport after that city's new airport was built. Principle 2: Optimize Lindbergh Field The airport authority and others before it have looked at numerous ways the current airport could be expanded and reconfigured to satisfy increased demand. But geography -- steeply rising terrain on approach and takeoff -- works against SDIA. Studies make it abundantly clear that adding a non-parallel runway (the open V) would only increase SDIA's capacity by some 15 percent 20 percent. So while it might increase airport capacity in the short term, it would be at great cost -- $1.5 billion to $2 billion -- and buy us only a few additional years. Is that a wise investment? The state law creating the airport authority says a viable long-term solution will need to serve some 35 million airline passengers a year. An airport solution designed to accommodate that number would likely serve our region for 100 years or more. That is the kind of long-range planning to which communities interested in long-term viability commit themselves. Our region will grow regardless of what we do about the airport -- the question is, will it grow stronger? We must also ask: Is it fair to leave this issue for future generations to solve? We should take responsibility and seize the chance to solve this problem for the long-term.now. After all, that is one of the chief reasons state law created the airport authority in the first place. The airport authority has studied how to optimize Lindbergh Field to the fullest extent possible, by adding a second parallel runway that would allow simultaneous landings and takeoffs and indeed meet the region's long-term needs. During the summer of 2005, six dual runway scenarios were evaluated, and one of these, known as Concept 6, was moved forward into analysis by the board. The analysis revealed something equally unimaginable:
[Goanet] CA/PS XVI: MUMBAI/GOA DUO IN U.S. OF A?
http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=euLTJbMUKvHb=468 669ct=2392493 The crown jewels of Los Angeles are their infrastructure: their port system, their airport system, their water and power systems. Our crown jewels are our beaches and our parks. **We chose a different developmental path early on. Los Angelization.** The problem is, it's already here. Traffic congestion now in San Diego is getting to be almost as bad as Los Angeles. The growth is here, the suburban sprawl. You hate to say the future, but it is Los Angeles. . I don't see in San Diego government the level of professionalism I see in L.A. government. It's almost like it's a suburban government down here. There is an amateurish quality. I see the same thing with water, power, airports. What you have in L.A. going back 100 years is, I call it, the culture of Mulhollandism. The bureaucracies were capable of thinking of big, vast, heroic public works projects. We never had to do that here, in part because **we were a Navy town. So we sort of had stunted bureaucracies.** Now we're being called upon to develop our own infrastructure, and we don't have a great track record for doing that. I know of no other major city as dependent on the infrastructure of another city as San Diego is in Los Angeles. Can you imagine Philadelphia hooked up to New York's airport system, port system and water system? San Diego really only comes of age with World War II -- because of the military. People came to San Diego and said: Hey! We'd like to stay here. But San Diego in many ways -- and I don't want to say this pejoratively -- is an adolescent city. It's still like in its late teens or early 20s. Los Angeles is a young city, too, by eastern standards. But remember, L.A.'s great leap forward is before World War II. --- Goa's problem is not stunted bureaucracies but, more fundamentally, stunted politicians who seem to be pretending to play the democracy game in the shadow of the insidious military presence especially at Dabolim airport. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] RE: Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh spent a night on INS
Seems like the standard Navy fare. A justification for heightened military expenditure? --FN Sure, they (IN) are past masters at putting on a jolly good show with lots of razzle dazzle to divert visiting dignitaries and others from reality and twist their arms into agreeing to their continuation at Dabolim. But try to come down to earth -- and Goa! That's where this particular exercise got me thinking along new lines. All this time I was inclined to believe that the real seat of power in Goa lay not in Altinho or Alto Porvorim or even Governor's House but in Navy House. Now I think it might be the aircraft carrier somewhere off the Goa coast as the stock military reporting phrase goes. Are we seeing a quasi/pseudo-democratic variation vis a vis Goa of the venerable idea of gunboat diplomacy? Pls discuss. Thanks. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] RE: Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh spent a night on INS
Addressing the sailors on Saturday, Dr Manmohan Singh said that India would soon have another aircraft carrier Vikramaditya. Admiral Gorshkov, after modification, will be commissioned as Vikramaditya. He also told newsmen that navy can contribute a lot to the growth of India's trade. This would have been a perfect opportunity for the Navy top brass to impress on the PM that he should not do anything to shift it out of Dabolim over the Mopa airport imbroglio which he eventually is supposed to resolve personally. All kinds of misinformation such as how the Navy has extracted Rs 70 *thousand* crores from Goa over the past 45 years and sunk it into Dabolim for national security puposes would no doubt have been bandied about. Let us hope the PM was able to see through all this self serving bluster and takes a decision which is really in the country's economic interests in the new security environment. As an aside it should be mentioned that I caught a snippet of the PM's stay on board the aircraft carrier reported above and was surprised to fnd that his wife was by his side! All a very nice family outing in great style out at sea off the Goa coast. Gives a new meaning to the phrase combining business with pleasure, right? Bah! _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] UPDATE ON AIRPORT POLICY
http://autofeed.msn.co.in/pandorav3/output/Business/d371a9c0-264f-481b-ae5c- c3e6705d91a7.aspx Airports may get regional, global status Source: Business Standard. Image Source: DGL.Microsoft New Delhi, May 5: The government is planning to reclassify airports in an attempt to develop their infrastructure and capacity. The airports will be classified as international and regional hubs, replacing the current classification of metro and non-metro airports. International hubs, which will handle international traffic, will have world-class facilities. These include convenient connections to international and domestic destinations, airport-related infrastructure like hotels, shopping areas, conference and entertainment facilities and aircraft maintenance bases. They will have the status of international airports for purposes of bilateral agreements. Regional hubs, as the name suggests, will handle regional traffic. They will act as the operational base for regional airlines and have all the facilities currently marked for model airports,** including the capability to handle limited international traffic.** There is a need to develop the regional market. There will be steps to promote traffic to these regional hubs, said Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel. The identification of regional hubs will be made on the basis of market demand, traffic demand and the requirements of the airlines. State governments will be associated with the project as co-promoters of regional airlines. One of the options under consideration is to take policy initiatives to help start and operationalise smaller airlines with smaller aircraft to serve the regional markets. There is also a plan to develop other airports on the basis of individual needs to meet traffic requirements. The short-term objective will be to clear incoming international passengers within 45 minutes of arrival and clear departing passengers in 60 minutes, including check-in-time. Similar targets of 30 and 45 minutes, respectively, will be laid down for domestic flights. --- Anybody want to venture an opinion about the implication of the foregoing for Dabolim and/or Mopa? Seems to me that there IS scope for handling international traffic at both of them even if both are regional and not global hubs (like Mumbai, Delhi etc). Not a word about military control of airports, the nub of India's airport problem, even though Praful Patel's committee has supposedly been 'on the job' since end October 2005! _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] CA/PS XV: MILITARY CHARACTER OF SOME AIR BASES MAY BE EYEWASH
* G * O * A * N * E * T C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S * Enjoy your holiday in Goa. Stay at THE GARCA BRANCA from November to May There is no better, value for money, guest house. Confirm your bookings early or miss-out Visit http://www.garcabranca.com for details/booking/confirmation. --- http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20060502--1m2airport.html Capt. Mike Allen, chief of staff for Navy Region Southwest, reiterated the military's opposition in a brief address to the board yesterday, accusing the agency of a conscious decision to ignore issues of military readiness and public safety that would arise from joint use. In the light of the above unyielding stance, one cant help wondering if the military character of some of our airports like Bangalore HAL, Hyderabad Begumpet, Goa Dabolim and maybe even Pune Lohegaon are just an eyewash. There dont seem to have been any serious issues of military readiness let alone public safety at the first two which have seen fantastic civilian traffic growth in recent years. At Dabolim the military readiness problem may be a manufactured one to retain control courtesy the aircraft carrier based nearby. Even so the only issue of public safety that has been identified so far is one of military aircaft crashing accidentally into petrol storage tanks in the vicinity, not armaments being dropped on residents accidentally. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] Re: Blown by Google Earth
RESPONSE: By the time I looked, they had moved the parked planes inside the hangar;-) Security Issues !! A little over a year ago, Philip Thomas had sent in a clipping from the Economic Times about the Government of India taking issue with Google Earth/Google Maps, etcthat allowed for this sensitive information being available publicly. At that time, I had sent in a link from Google of an image of Dabolim - was grainy. The present one is much better. Strange, but just last Monday I ran into a friend of mine out here after a year and he said the google image of Dabolim was exactly the way Cecil Pinto described it on goanet a few days later, parked planes and all! So there's a slight disconnect between these two accounts and Bosco's. Either that or the images (and the Navy!) are more dynamic than we have been led to believe. I guess we just have to check out google earth for ourselves. Btw, does Karwar figure in the google collection? Cheers. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] RE: Blown by Google Earth
if you check out Dabolim (which fortunately is within the same rectangle) you can see not just the runway but the parked planes too! Great! But tell me, does it look like it can throw a $16 billion military punch across the Arabian Sea if needed? Do you suppose a handful of such bases would meet the country's entire air defence needs? Mama mia. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] DISPROPORTIONATE ASSETS OF DABOLIM?
For the second time this month I have heard the Navy top brass in Goa propagating the point (myth?) that Rs 70,000 crores (~$ 16 billion) have been sunk into Dabolim. As mentioned by me on the previous occasion, this figure was stated to be about Rs 25,000 crores just 18 months ago on goanet. For good measure this time the Navy worthy added that the Rs 70K crores is from the resources of Goa! These twists were simply to justify the Navy's continuation at Dabolim and aversion to any transfer of flight training activities to Seabird/Karwar to reduce prevailing restrictions on civilian flights at the former. However, the Rear Admiral seemed resigned to the functioning of two airports (Dabolim and Mopa) and even cited the examples of New York and Tokyo's multi-airport systems! Most probably he is hoping that the civil enclave at Dabolim will die a natural death once Mopa is in full swing. This (the closure of Dabolim CE) must, of course, NOT be allowed to happen, no matter what. Cheers. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] CA/PS XIV: WHEN A MILITARY BASE IS NOT UNTOUCHABLE
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/04/25/news/top_stories/20_02_594_24_06. txt FAA chief says region right to consider bases By: DAVE DOWNEY - Staff Writer SAN DIEGO The nation's aviation chief said Monday that it was a wise move for San Diego to consider military bases as potential sites for a new airport because the changing nature of national defense may deliver an opportunity to use a military installation for civilian purposes. I think it's wise that the airport authority is looking carefully at all the options, said Marion C. Blakey, administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, in a news conference at Lindbergh Field. At the same time, Blakey said the federal agency would not intervene in a dispute between regional officials and the military should the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, and subsequently county residents, select a local base as the preferred site. Instead, she said, it would be up to local members of Congress to lobby the military on behalf of the region. The authority is studying whether to build a new airport or expand Lindbergh Field and expects to name a choice by June. That choice will appear on the November county ballot as an advisory measure. Airport authority officials maintain that by 2020, Lindbergh will run out of room to accommodate the region's swelling aviation traffic. Lindbergh is the nation's busiest single-runway airport and 20th busiest overall. It recorded 17.4 million airline passengers in 2005, and is forecast to reach 30 million by 2030. That forecast is disputed by a UC San Diego economist who suggests that Lindbergh can continue serving the area for the foreseeable future. Blakey, however, said there is plenty of reason to believe San Diego's cramped 661-acre airport cannot handle the area's long-term needs, let alone emerging opportunities to provide a greater share of swelling international service for Southern Californians. LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) is and will continue to be a major international hub, Blakey said. But it is growth-limited and there is not much prospect for that to change. Prospects are great, however, for demand for travel to destinations in Latin America and Asia to soar because of immigration and because of China's economic expansion, Blakey said. The United States long has been the world's busiest aviation market, but China is growing so fast that it will overtake the U.S. in 20 years, she said. With Los Angeles approaching a cap on future capacity, and few airports stepping up to the plate to absorb the growth it will have to pass on, she said, San Diego officials have a chance to seize a large chunk of the international market. But they're not going to be able to do it with a one-runway airport, Blakey said. The nation's 15th FAA administrator also said San Diego County leaders should not become discouraged in the face of the difficult choices. These are huge decisions, and sometimes they have taken decades for others to make, she said. -- The U.S.' FAA Chief is like our DGCA who however is an invisible figure! How many in India would speak as candidly in a public forum as in the above report? Even the redoubtable goanet seems to have gone into a funk. What a pity! _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] FOR COMMENTS SUGGESTIONS (II)
Here is a brief update of my previous post on multi-airport systems based on new information that became available. Its just an add-on. Tail hook: Recently a report about the plans for second airports for Kolkatta and Chennai helps to demystify (as well as re-mystify!) the issue! Apparently, the idea is to upgrade the existing airports there in such a way as to explicitly PROLONG the need to build a second airport. Ironically this, in effect, is what was envisaged with Goa's NEW airport (at Mopa). Namely, make it such as to render Dabolim redundant even if, somehow, it remained open. [The resulting reaction of the opposing camp viz Dabolim for ever, Mopa never says it all]. The mid-stream upgrade of BIAL referred to above also conforms to this pattern. Thus only Mumbai seems to be genuinely in need of a second airport perhaps due to severe space/encroachment considerations. Delhi's inclusion is largely on political gounds i.e. to keep on par with Mumbai and somehow meet the deadlne for the Commonwealth Games there in 2010. So the question is: Does the Civil Aviation Ministry REALLY want multi-airport systems for low cost aviation or is it just empty rhetoric? The answer may well be the latter. I take it we are pretty much on the same wave-length on this updated 'piece'. Fine! But, hey, if anything anywhere doesnt sound right, dont hesitate to holler. Cheers. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] OFF TOPIC?: FOR COMMENTS SUGGESTIONS
Please consider this as a work in progress which would benefit from comments and suggestions of any kind on goanet. Thanks. Philip Thomas --- TOWARDS MULTI-AIRPORT SYSTEMS IN INDIA After revving engines in fits and starts for nearly a decade, a draft civil aviation policy is again being cleared for take-off. Recent press reports indicate that there is going to be an explicit tilt towards facilitating low cost air traffic in the wake of last year's dramatic upsurge in first time air travel. Thus there is now a plan for multi-airport systems in metros like Mumbai and Delhi, a crucial factor in the development of low cost carriers (LCCs) elsewhere. There is also talk about upgrading/creating regional airports in tourist hubs in order to disperse traffic patterns in the country (since 50% of it is now concentrated on the Delhi-Mumbai route). However, on the flip side there is the proposal to levy a flat Rs 500 cess on all air tickets, and to remove duty exemptions enjoyed by airlines on ATF. Both these moves will surely nip the nascent LCC market in the bud! Is this plane smart -- or dumb? It appears that, in the short run, the aim is to put the brakes on the unprecedented 20% p.a. air traffic growth while 'skimming the cream' fiscally to fill the government's coffers. Perhaps the money from the cess, (if it is to the estimated tune of about Rs 1000 crores a year), will provide ample resources for the AAI staff to play with as they are supposed to spearhead the upgradation of non-metro airports, the sop for caving in abjectly to the privatisation of AAI holy cows, Mumbai and Delhi airports. However, the second airports for these two metros are expected to follow the public-private-partnership (PPP) route, like the greenfield airports for Bangalore and Hyderabad both of which are due to be completed in two years. It is in the dichotomy between the second airport plans for Mumbai and Delhi and the new airport work for Bangalore and Hyderabad that the draft civil aviation policy seems to be flying blindfolded. In the former case, a change is being envisaged to the minimum 150 km separation rule to facilitate a convenient second airport. In the latter, the government has already agreed to the private developers' requirement to close existing airports (HAL in Bangalore and Begumpet in Hyderabad) once BIAL and HIAL were ready. In an anomalous move, the Civil Aviation Minister is now pushing the Bangalore consortium to accelerate the construction plans for BIAL to cope with the explosion in traffic when the clause to close HAL could have been revoked by the stroke of a pen and both airports could have operated in tandem! Why is the multi-airport sauce for the goose not sauce for the gander? Tellingly, the Bangalore consortium is prepared to spend a few hundred more crores on the exercise presumably to keep their monopoly intact. But for how long? In Goa too there is a similar problem. The state is a key tourist destination both domestic and foreign. It accounts for practicall 100% of India's charter flights but sees hardly any scheduled nternational flights. You see, its airport is controlled by the Indian Navy (just as HAL is with the Defence establishment and Begumpet is with the Indian Air Force). While the slot control regimes seem to have somehow allowed for the accelerated growth at Bangalore and Begumpet -- (perhaps IT trumps tourism!) -- the one at Dabolim (Goa) has resulted in the latter slipping in the air traffic sweepstakes in recent times (though it is still one of the 10 profitable Indian airports). To add insult to injury, Dabolim is slated to close once a new greenfield airport is ready (if and when that happens). This was decided by the Union Cabinet six long years ago! Goa is technically a state and not a city. But it is compact enough in area and important enough socio-economically to be treated like one for aviation purposes rather than as a decorativel military outpost that is far (in time and space) from conventional external threats. And the Navy is building a huge submarine base at Karwar not far away which could conceivably reduce Dabolim's military flight training load as could its dedicated airfield in Cochin which CIAL vacated in 1999 to go greenfield(very successfully) via PPP. What gets one's goat is the distinct possibility that Begumpet, HAL and Dabolim will, when closed to the aam admi of the air, stay open to serve VVIPs and maybe assorted plain vanilla VIPs, on security grounds, just as the technical area of Palam does today in Delhi. The travelling public must move decisively to foreclose this unsavoury option without further ado. And while no policy can be completely watertight, pundits should examine closely the actual extent to which the new proposals help to de-militarise our nation's economically vital airport facilities for the sake of the aviation industry's smooth ascent
[Goanet] CA/PS XIII: SAN DIEGO'S HASG TYPES
http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=euLTJbMUKvHb=412 359ct=2196519 Study: Miramar Is the 'Strongest' Option By ROB DAVIS Voice Staff Writer Wednesday, April 19, 2006 Marine Corps Air Station Miramar emerged the victor of a new study of the marketability of proposed sites for a new regional airport, while four distant options in the desert and Riverside County were clearly the losers. Because of its central location to tourist sites, major businesses and the county's population center, Miramar is touted by the airport authority study as the most marketable of seven options. It would continue drawing passengers from southern San Diego, the study says, while drawing new fliers from northern San Diego County. Lindbergh Field, with a supplemental runway across the bay at Naval Air Station North Island, would also be strongly accepted by potential airport users for similar reasons. The study, which will be presented and discussed at the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority's Monday strategic planning meeting, could call into question Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton's viability as a new airport site. The sprawling 125,000-acre base is 40 miles away from San Diego's central business district. That's farther than any other airport to its related city center in the nation -- and nearly in the world. Only Tokyo's second airport would be farther away, at 41 miles. Authority members received the study Tuesday night. Board member Xema Jacobson said she had yet to digest the 84-page report, but questioned why the marketability of expanding Lindbergh Field -- without an extra runway at North Island -- had been excluded from the study. While a Camp Pendleton airport would be unattractive to southern San Diego air travelers, it would draw in 500,000 more passengers than had previously been projected in 2030, because it is so close to Orange County. But moving the airport farther north would entice more people to drive to Los Angeles International Airport rather than fly, the study says. Although traffic will be worse in 2030 and LAX will have its own capacity problems, the study says many would still drive there. Camp Pendleton is far from an ideal solution for San Diego County, the report says, because it would be inconvenient for many travelers. . [It] is perhaps best considered less of a San Diego County airport and more of a San Diego County/Orange County airport. If the base is chosen, the study says close attention should be paid to providing transportation between the airport and San Diego. In 2030, the average drive time would be 50 minutes to Camp Pendleton, compared with 34 minutes to Miramar and 40 minutes to Lindbergh Field. The longest drive? Two-and-a-half hours to Riverside County's March Air Reserve Base. The study dismisses March and three other sites as being too remote: Imperial County, Borrego Springs and Boulevard. While constrained capacity at Lindbergh would cause serious consequences -- longer waits, more traffic, higher fares -- the study says building an airport at a remote site would cause even greater problems. Choosing a remote site is likely to have significant economic consequences, it says. Putting the airport in one of those four remote sites, the study says, would make San Diego unattractive for tourists destined for cruise ships. The distance would be the nation's longest between a city's airport and its cruise terminal and is likely to pose a significant deterrent to passengers considering taking a cruise in San Diego. Imperial County supporters have touted a high-speed magnetic levitation train as a way to cut travel time and increase the market for that site, 104 miles from downtown San Diego. The authority's marketability study views the expensive train skeptically. Previous projections show 48 percent of air travelers would use the high-speed train, estimated to cost between $15 billion and $25 billion. It would take air travelers an average of 94 minutes to get to the Imperial County site, the study says. If 96 percent of Imperial County-bound passengers used the maglev, the study concludes the average travel time would still be 82 minutes. The study found it unlikely that passengers to nearby destinations such as Las Vegas would drive from their home to a proposed Miramar maglev station, ride the train, and then endure the airport and airline experience, only to arrive at their destination and still need to take a cab or rent a car. But no site would be more problematic for airlines and passengers than March Air Reserve Base, according to the study. It predicts no airlines would move to the site, because it is just 28 miles away from the nearby Ontario airport, which still has room to expand. If San Diego's airport is put there, the study forecasts passenger demand would drop 100 percent. The report was commissioned by the airport authority and prepared by two consultants, Eclat Consulting and Ricondo Associates.
[Goanet] GOA AVIATION SCENE GETS CURIOUSER (II)
Some updates to an earlier post which have got a bit bunched up: 1. 3. An international (arrival?) terminal has been designed for Dabolim but has not yet been implemented. No responsibility is however assigned for this serious lapse. But it repeats its previous claim that there has been dithering on the part of the Navy in releasing 9 acres of land for expanding aircraft bays. My files show that the lapse is attributabe to the Navy which has reportedly not given the NOC even though funds were approved 3 years ago, according to the BJP's LS MP from Goa, Shripad Naik in HERALD. The 9 acres (36,000 sq m) of land must be related to this project. What is the explanation for this dubious institutional behaviour? 2. Who is cooking the tourist books? Perhaps some vested interest which wants to underline the underutilisation of Dabolim? Check out this story: http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?storyflag=yleftnm=lmn u2leftindx=2lselect=1chklogin=Nautono=53 Excerpt: According to domestic aviation companies, the occupancy on non-metro routes is usually less than 50 per cent, against the break-even occupancy of 65 per cent. So what is the occupancy (utilisation level) of Dabolim? On a 12 hour (daylight) basis? On a 24 hour basis (including night landing)? If Dabolim is profitable then it means the utilisation level is above 65%! That would have to be in daylight hours. So is the provision of night landing by the Navy nearly 3 years ago (even though it claimed it did not need it for military purposes) a ploy to create hype about under-utilisation (say of less than 50%)? What is the truth? 4. The earnings figure of Rs 70 crores per year which we reported recently for Dabolim seems to be in the ball park. According to a TOI story, Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL, a public private partnership) is making Rs 100 crores a year (in revenues). CIAL is operating in an unrestricted way. But in 7 (seven) years it is doing more business than 40+ year old Dabolim which has one hand tied behind its back by the Navy. Btw, CIAL is spread over only 1000 acres (vs Dabolim's 1700 and Mopa's 4000 odd) and it cost Rs 300 crores (vs Mopa's estimated Rs 1000 crores). All this is the 'opportunity cost' of Dabolim's security role and basically Goa is paying it. --- _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] WALK THE TALK
This loyalty motivates me to reply to posts which bring the Indian Armed Forces to disrepute, by misinformation, innuendos and downright ignorance in some cases. Your generalisation that loyalty abhors truth has no basis in truth(no pun intended). Mature and Logical thinkers can sift what is true, without compromising their loyalty. I hope you really believe what you said in the last sentence and dont labour under the delusion that you have a monopoly for the qualities mentioned. Cheers. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] GOA AVIATION SCENE GETS CURIOUSER
Some information that has become available in the last couple of days points to a very strange state of affairs in the prevailing airports controversy. Yesterday's HERALD had a couple of interesting articles. One by Joseph Zuzarte provided a fascinating glimpse of the hitherto generally implicit link between aviation, airports, hotels and taxi operators. He points to the fear among tourist taxi operators of south Goa that once Mopa comes up they will be prevented from operating in north Goa. Alongside this article there is one by VM Maler (sic) which says the line between tourist seasons (i.e. busy/slack) is almost gone. And yet not very long ago there was this front page report in HERALD that in 2005 tourist arrivals in Goa had 'dropped' nearly 10%! The explanation given then was that it was due to IFFI and SFX. Shouldnt these have had precisely the 'opposite' effect? Hmmm. Who is cooking the tourist books? Perhaps some vested interest which wants to underline the underutilisation of Dabolim? Last night I managed to catch some news items on the Goa TV news channel(s). Manohar Parrikar claims about Rs 300 crores have been invested by AAI in the civil enclave at Dabolim. He added that by the time Mopa is ready in ten years another Rs 300 croeres will be invested. He wondered how the civil enclave could be closed after so much investment has been made in it. Good question, right? Today's HERALD has another blast by HASG. In this one there are some new points which were not there in the earlier adverts. Key among these are the following: 1. The Government of India's offer of Rs 500 crores for a 'Dabolim upgrade' is contingent on the state foregoing the Mopa option. In the event of the latter, the money will go there. 2. The Mopa airport is not financially feasible.If so why is in heaven's name is investment being planned for it? Why is no one considering that it is totally overdesigned i.e. for Airbus 380? 3. An international (arrival?) terminal has been designed for Dabolim but has not yet been implemented. No responsibility is however assigned for this serious lapse. But it repeats its previous claim that there has been dithering on the part of the Navy in releasing 9 acres of land for expanding aircraft bays. And a pushback truck which would help in packing the aircraft closer together is lying idle for a year. 4. There are no takers for some domestic flights (such as Indian's 20:00 hrs flight to Mumbai) and hence domestic flights are constantly being discontinued. This is in contradiction to VM Maler's article which says that for the 4 new airlines which launched flights to Goa it is the most profitable sector of all ! Who is right? 5. For Pernem's development it would be better to push for a spur of the Mumbai-Chennai leg of the Golden Quadrilateral i.e. from Belgaum to Sindhudurg(?) area than to go for Mopa airport and the Canacona-Pernem Expressway. HASG's bias is clearly for international travellers (luxury coach/taxi users) and it is using the Mumbai/Delhi airport model for this purpose. Hence it is least bothered about the restriction on flights between 0830 hrs and 1330 hrs a time slot hardly used by international flights at the two metros. But this slot is crucial for low cost carriers operating shuttle domestic flights. What is the point of catching an afternoon flight from Mumbai on a Saturday and having to return by Sunday afternoon? OK there are no restrictions on weekends. But airlines cant make schedules only for Goa. --- _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] Re: DABOLIM''S EARNINGS
--- * G * O * A * N * E * T *** C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S * --- USDA certified Goa Sausages and other Goan foods can now be delivered to virtually any part of the world. http://www.goanfoods.com --- Can someone define exactly how my post is *obfuscatory*? Ive got to go back to my latin grammar in my old age, I would guess, as Im not familiar with that particular word. And in what ways is the post referring in any way to security issues, or stonewalling? I leave it to the readers of goanet to fathom this one out. --- Here is another word you may want to look up (maybe on google): BENAMI. The practice you seem to be (inadvertently) advocating (about mixing up AAI's and Defence accounts at Dabolim simply coz they are both arms of the same Government) would put private sector manipulations in the shade (no pun intended)! That apart, let me run this info also past you since you claim to have knowledge of accounts. The Navy's earnings from Dabolim are to the tune of Rs 70 crores (seventy crores only) annually. From 30 flights a day that is a tidy sum, right? My hunch is that far from being a loser Dabolim may be one of the only 10 profitable AAI airports in the country reported in the ET item. But it still doesnt add up to a Rs 70 THOUSAND crore facility as claimed by your Rear Admiral and his predecessors. Then again, I am reminded of an old joke in accounts which you may have heard. Three guys appear for an interview. The first is asked What's 2 plus 2. He dutifully answers Four. The next guy answers tentatively Five?. But the third asks What do YOU want it to be?. He is the one who gets the job. Which accounting policy did you favour? Cheers. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] Re: DABOLIM -- A LOSER?
--- * G * O * A * N * E * T *** C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S * --- USDA certified Goa Sausages and other Goan foods can now be delivered to virtually any part of the world. http://www.goanfoods.com --- What does the Navy earn from Dabolim? The short answer is-Nothing. The Navy is not some private company from the private sector. It is an integral part of the Ministry of Defence, which, in turn, is a part of the Govt. of India. The Airports Authority of India, which operates the airport civil part, is a part of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, which is another arm of the Govt. of India. It therefore follows that whether the earnings are from the Navy or the AAI, all revenue from Dabolim is revenue for the Govt. of India. This is the same in all airports in India. The Navys budget for salaries, equipment, etc , has nothing to do with Dabolim, but comes from the central allocation to the Defence budget. regards, Gilbert Menezes. As usual you are at your obfuscatory best! And yet, ECONOMIC TIMES whose article I had posted doesnt seem to buy your plea to ignore airport financials just because AAI and defence bases (including civil enclaves) are all part of the same entity. Profitability of airports such as Dabolim is and will be an issue. The stakes are too high (socio-economically) now. Check out this link: http://www.indianairports.com/php/showNews.php?newsid=42linkid=51PHPSESSID =ee5a26d91b1d32254e607963414d9264 Civil-Military Cooperation --- --- --- --- --- --- c. Additional land is to be provided at civilian enclaves in military airports. **Revenue from aeronautical charges at these airports deserves to be shared with the AAI, in order to compensate it for the capital investment it has made.** Much as you would like to mix up things to avoid transparency and accountability, (perhaps on the usual 'security' grounds) people ARE going to try and untangle the facts. Good luck with your stone-walling! _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] DABOLIM -- A LOSER?
--- * G * O * A * N * E * T *** C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S * --- USDA certified Goa Sausages and other Goan foods can now be delivered to virtually any part of the world. http://www.goanfoods.com --- http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1491066.cms Travel boom flies past some airports G GANAPATHY SUBRAMANIAM TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SATURDAY, APRIL 15, 2006 12:55:46 AM] NEW DELHI: NEW DELHI: What is common between Jaipur, Srinagar, Khajuraho, Agra, Port Blair, Jaisalmer, Varanasi and Agatti? Though they are all tourist hotspots, the airports they house are in the red. It may sound ironic, especially if you consider the boom in travel during the past couple of years, but the airports at these destinations do not make a single penny by way of profits. What's worse, the civil aviation ministry feels there isn't much scope to turn these facilities profitable unless passenger traffic grows in a big way. Virtually all airports linking key tourist destinations of the country are making losses and the trend covers every part of the country: From Bagdogra in the East, which is the gateway to Darjeeling and Sikkim; to Jaisalmer in the West; and Srinagar up North to Port Blair down South. Red ink also dogs the balance sheets of airports that serve popular destinations like Tirupati and Jammu, which are thronged by lakhs of pilgrims. According to data collated by the ministry, the Varanasi airport lost Rs 14.5 crore during '04-05. Lakhs of tourists, both domestic as well as foreign, visit the holy city every year and the Varanasi airport even had flights connecting Kathmandu, apart from domestic destinations like Delhi and Kolkata, till recently. The airport located at the city of Taj, Agra, lost Rs 4.6 crore during the year. Jaipur, the other point linking the tourist triangle anchored by Delhi, fared far worse with losses of Rs 12.7 crore. The airports at Kullu, Dehradun and Kangra are also in the red. Apart from tourist destinations, a number of airports located at state capitals are also in red. The Patna airport lost nearly Rs 11.9 crore in ' 04-05, while the Bhopal airport lost Rs 8.8 crore. In any case, 116 of the 126 airports managed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) make losses. The Guwahati airport, the gateway to the North-East, is among the list of non-profitable airports with losses of Rs 51 crore, followed by Bhubaneshwar with Rs 14.7 crore, Lucknow (Rs 10.8 crore), Thiruvananthapuram (Rs 4.3 crore), Chandigarh (Rs 2.7 crore) Shimla (Rs 2.6 crore) and Ahmedabad (Rs 1.9 crore). The ministry cites 'very low traffic' as the reason for consistent losses at these airports. The current feeling is that it was 'very difficult' to convert these facilities into profit-making airports. Efforts are now on to cut expenditure at these airports so that losses can at least be curbed. The Safdarjung airport at Delhi, where all flying activity has been banned due to security reasons, lost Rs 7 crore during '04-05. The flight training school located there has been grounded functional as the airport is located near key installations like Parliament, President's Estate and the Prime Minister's residence. The airport at Gaya made losses of Rs 6.4 crore, even though it is a key pilgrimage destination for Buddhists while the Khajuraho airport lost Rs 6.7 crore in '04-05. The Port Blair airport, which is the gateway to the Andaman Nicobar islands, lost Rs 3.5 crore during the year, while the Jammu airport made a loss of Rs 5.5 crore. The Nagpur airport, that is now being converted into a cargo hub, lost Rs 29 crore during '04-05. The Agatti airport, which serves the Lakshadweep islands, made losses to the tune of Rs 13 crore. The 116 loss-making airports of AAI are sustained through the earnings to 10 profitable airports, which include Delhi and Mumbai that are being shifted to private managements now. Some of the loss-making facilities are civilian enclaves run by AAI at defence airports. Among the major losers are Allahabad (Rs 16.1 crore loss during '04-05), Belgaum (Rs 15.8 crore), Silchar (Rs 14.9 crore), Hubli (Rs 13 crore), Agartala (Rs 8.4 crore) Amritsar (Rs 7.5 crore), Mangalore (Rs 6.3 crore), Dibrugarh (Rs 4.1 crore), Udaipur (Rs 4 crore), Raipur (Rs 3.6 crore) and Visakapatnam (Rs 2.7 crore). The ministry is looking at modernisation of many of these airports by AAI under its policy for non-metro airports Anybody have any dope on Dabolim's financials? Is it a loss-making airport or a money maker? What does the Navy earn annually from its operation? Who pays for capex such as runway upgrades etc (if any)? Unfortunately the article above is tantalisingly uninformative on these counts!
[Goanet] DIALOGUE OF THE DEAF OVER DABOLIM?
--- * G * O * A * N * E * T *** C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S * --- USDA certified Goa Sausages and other Goan foods can now be delivered to virtually any part of the world. http://www.goanfoods.com --- Today's HERALD has a front page report about LS MP (BJP) Shripad Naik's views about Dabolim. He is a former union minister of state for civil aviation who has also served in this capacity in the finance ministry. He is reported to have stated there is no scope for expansion of the [Dabolim] airport and that [it] is inadequate for big planes This flies in the face of the HASG's claim in prominent ads in HERALD recently that Dabolim routinely sees Boeing 747 charter flights. Isnt this big enough? If this is not a clear case of a 'dialogue of the deaf' then I would like to know what it really is. To add to the problematic situation, the report goes on to dilate on the efforts Shripad Naik claims to have made to expand the facilities at the Dabolim airport! Then what was the logic for this effort? Anyway, Naik claims Rs210 cr had been sanctioned by the Centre but were never utilised. Out of this(?) Rs 100 cr earmarked for terminal building has not been utilised because even three years after sanctioning of the funds they didnt receive the NOC from the Navy. So, what is the real problem at Dabolim? Genuine physical limitations of the site (as suggested at the outset by Naik/HERALD) or the intransigence of the dog-in-the-manger Navy with its feudal mindset (euphemistically called landlord on goanet!)? Cheers. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] WHERE WOULD GOA RANK?
--- * G * O * A * N * E * T *** C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S * --- USDA certified Goa Sausages and other Goan foods can now be delivered to virtually any part of the world. http://www.goanfoods.com --- there *is* a difference between the quality of living and quality of life: Thanks for the links and for drawing attention to the difference between 'quality of living' and 'quality of life'. I was not able to locate the names of cities in the 80-100 bracket I was interested in. As you said, one may have to purchase the report to get it. While the report may be somewhat narrowly aimed at facilitating corporate decisions about HR matters such as compensation of expatriates according to their overseas location including on account of security, safety and health risks (which reduce qualit of living), I am interested in such surveys to activate thinking here about Goa as a city. The idea is to use a wholistic, integrated approach to Goa's development as opposed to the almost village level perspectives which seem to prevail. The following excerpt from the link you provided may provide a useful framework to proceed n this direction: The overall quality of living ranking is based on an evaluation of 39 criteria. New York has been used as the base score for quality of living, which has a total index equal to 100. Mercer's study is based on detailed assessments and evaluations of 39 key quality of living determinants, grouped in the following categories: Political and social environment (political stability, crime, law enforcement, etc.) Economic environment (currency exchange regulations, banking services, etc.) Socio-cultural environment (censorship, limitations on personal freedom, etc.) Medical and health considerations (medical supplies and services, infectious diseases, sewage, waste disposal, air pollution, etc.) Schools and education (standard and availability of schools, etc.) Public services and transportation (electricity, water, public transport, traffic congestion, etc.) Recreation (restaurants, theatres, cinemas, sports and leisure, etc.) Consumer goods (availability of food/daily consumption items, cars, etc.) Housing (housing, household appliances, furniture, maintenance services, etc.) Natural environment (climate, record of natural disasters) Cheers. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] CA/PS XII: HOW SAN DIEGO'S CHURCHILL PUTS IT
-- Domnic Fernandes continues (Part III) his reminiscence of Mapusa of the 1950s http://www.goanet.org/index.php?name=Newsamp;file=articleamp;sid=426 -- http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060330/news_lz1e30carson.html A new airport? We can keep Lindbergh Field and make it work By Richard Carson March 30, 2006 Lindbergh Field can adequately serve San Diego needs well into the future if steps are taken to encourage the use of regular jets rather than smaller regional jets and turbo props to carry the projected increase in future passengers. The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority has focused its attention on two technically feasible alternatives to Lindbergh, one at Campo and the other in Imperial County, that offer almost unlimited expansion possibilities. Unfortunately, moving to either of these locations is worse than any projected problems with keeping Lindbergh. The key to Lindbergh's continued success lies in how it can be managed for optimal used. Let's carefully consider the issues at hand. The main problems with the airport authority's two desert sites are cost and distance. Put simply, the proposed cost of building an airport at one of these locations and a maglev train to it works out to more than $20 billion. No airport with anything approaching this cost has ever been built in the United States. The airport authority is careful to point out that San Diego County taxpayers would not pay this amount. Passengers flying into and out of San Diego, however, would pay a sizable portion of the cost, roughly $100 every time they traveled. Effectively, round-trip ticket prices would increase from their current average of $250 to $350. What would San Diegans and San Diego's large tourist industry get from this 40 percent tax on air travel? San Diego already enjoys an enviable domestic flight schedule in terms of nonstop service and high frequency. Is there anything more a new airport might provide? The key possibility pointed out by the airport authority is the likelihood that there would be new nonstop (as opposed to connecting) service to smaller cities using regional jets as San Diego's population grows. Places such as Omaha, Neb., and Oklahoma City. The argument has also been put forth that a new airport's long runways could be used to launch planes to distant international locations. True enough, but my analysis shows that except perhaps for a future flight to London, other transcontinental routes are not likely to be economically viable. British Airways recent experience in San Diego supports my analysis. It began nonstop service to London from Lindbergh on a Boeing 777, the current plane of choice for international flights, but found it not to be profitable, so the flight was canceled. As San Diego's population expands, a flight to London should eventually become profitable. However, since the current number of passengers flying to London is roughly four times that of other destinations, such as Tokyo, it is unlikely that profitable overseas service to cities other than London can be mounted in the foreseeable future. Yes, there would be more capacity for air cargo at the new airport, but due to the new airport's location, most air cargo would probably head north to Los Angeles International and Ontario as much of San Diego's air cargo currently does, or to the new cargo operation at March Field in Riverside County, which has enormous room from expansion. In point of fact, the argument that San Diego's future economy will be crippled by a lack of air cargo capacity at Lindbergh is an urban myth that has no basis in fact. If there is not economic disaster looming with respect to ways for San Diego businesses to ship their air cargo, is there one looming if not all the passengers who want to fly into San Diego can be accommodated at Lindbergh as is often claimed? San Diegans need to scrutinize the premise that Lindbergh cannot handle the projected number of future passengers. Surprisingly, the airport authority never considered whether Lindbergh could be managed in such a way as to accommodate the projected number of future passengers. Rather, it always envisioned what new facilities would need to be built since it assumed that the airlines would continue to operate with a large number of small planes as it had in the past. Lindbergh can readily accommodate the projected number of passengers in 2030 as long as the average addition to the set of planes flying into San Diego carries roughly 100 passengers. Is this an impossible thing to achieve? No. As an example, the most commonly used plane at Lindbergh is a Southwest Boeing 737, which carries about 100 passengers when it flies 75 percent full. The real issue is how to
[Goanet] WHERE WOULD GOA RANK?
-- Domnic Fernandes continues (Part III) his reminiscence of Mapusa of the 1950s http://www.goanet.org/index.php?name=Newsamp;file=articleamp;sid=426 -- http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1485543.cms Quality of life: Delhi catching up with Mumbai TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2006 12:03:48 AM] NEW DELHI: India's cities are moving up the global charts in terms of their quality of life and New Delhi is a particularly fast climber, having caught up for the first time with Mumbai as the country's most livable city. An annual survey of 215 cities all over the world ranks Mumbai and New Delhi joint 150th in quality of living, with Bangalore at rank 153 and Chennai at 160. That may not seem like much to cheer about, but three years back in 2003, the highest ranked Indian city at 156 was Mumbai, while Delhi was 162nd, just a notch above Chennai at 163 and below Bangalore at 159. Improved air, thanks to CNG, and better telcommunications facilities seem to have contributed to the better showing by Indian cities in the latest rankings, while Delhi is likely to have benefited also from the improvement in public transport brought about by the introduction of the Metro. These findings are from the annual quality of living survey conducted by human resource consulting firm Mercer. However, all four Indian cities have ranked lower than their Chinese counterparts. The five Chinese cities ranged from ranks 103 (Shanghai) to 147 (Shenyang). Several other Asian capitals apart from the obvious Tokyo (35), Singapore (34) and Hong Kong (68) are rated much higher than the Indian cities. Among these Kuala Lumpur, Taipei, Seoul, Tel Aviv, Bangkok, Manila, Colombo, Jakarta and even Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam at 148. As for India's neighbourhood, Islamabad at 158 squeezes in between the Indian cities, but Lahore (164), Karachi (171) and Dhaka (200) can't match any of the Indian metros in livability. The rankings for Indian cities have improved from last year, primarily due to India's improved political relationships with neighbouring countries,said Gangapriya Chakraverti, Business Leader, Human Capital Product Solutions at Mercer, India. Zurich ranks as the worlds top city for quality of living. It scores 108.2 points and is only marginally ahead of Geneva, which scores 108.1, while Vancouver follows in third place with a score of 107.7. In contrast, Baghdad is the lowest ranking city in the survey, scoring just 14.5 for obvious reasons. It's ranked the least attractive city for the third consecutive year. Almost half of the top 30 cities are in Western Europe. Vienna follows Zurich and Geneva in 4th position. Other highly-rated European cities include Dusseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich in positions 6, 7 and 8 respectively. Athens remains the lowest scoring city in Western Europe, scoring 86.8 at position 79. No American city is among top 10. Honolulu, is the highest ranking in US at rank 27. San Francisco is next at 28 while Boston, Washington, Chicago and Portland follow in positions 36, 41, 41 and 43 respectively. Overall, US cities continue to slip slightly or remain stable, except Chicago which improved 11 places due to decreased crime rates. - My guess is it would place somewhere between 80 and 100. (Any one know which are the cities in the survey in this bracket?) The problem is that unless there is some miracle in governance it is slowly but surely headed below the 100 mark i.e. between 100 and 150! I suppose that as long as it is just a step or two ahead of the top Indian cities it will continue to be a relatively attractive place in the country. Thank heavens for small mercies. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] WHAT'S COOKING FOR DABOLIM?
-- Domnic Fernandes continues (Part III) his reminiscence of Mapusa of the 1950s http://www.goanet.org/index.php?name=Newsamp;file=articleamp;sid=426 -- http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1483737.cms AAI kicks off revamp of small airports AGENCIES[ MONDAY, APRIL 10, 2006 12:00:00 AM] TIRUCHIRAPALLI: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has commissioned two consultancy firms, including a US-based company, to draw up a technical and economic feasibility report for development airports that are located in non-metro cities. Washington-based Louis Beger Group and Delhi-headquartered Intercontinental Consultancy and Technocrats** have already submitted their reports on Goa,** Lucknow, Madurai, Mangalore and Thiruvananthapuram airports, AAI advisor (airport operations and management) AV Anand said. They would now prepare preliminary reports for Tiruchirapalli, Indore, Bhopal, Nagpur, and Visakhapatnam and submit them in the next 45 days. The final report would be prepared by incorporating corrections and suggestions of AAI. The reports covered areas of airport operations, facilities at the airport and connectivity for both domestic and international. The recommendations, comprising a development plan taking into consideration requirements for the next 25 years, would form the basis for future investments by AAI. The AAI would go for commercial development of airport land with private participation, he said. Guillermo Alvarez of Berger Group, senior airport engineer and planner said the accent of modernisation would be on creating basic facilities and not a fun fare as in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur airports. Capital Fortune, another consultant, would study the economic feasibility, including cargo and passenger potential, and development of cities. A discussion on this was held here with the local CII members, he said. - No word anywhere so far on allottment of additional land and clearance from Military. Whether the present slot control regime will continue or it will be relaxed. Also if Mopa has been written off to facilitate this. Such sketchy discussions of Goa's aviation scene by the powers that be. Pity. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] DYSLEXIC ABOUT DABOLIM?
-- Domnic Fernandes continues (Part III) his reminiscence of Mapusa of the 1950s http://www.goanet.org/index.php?name=Newsamp;file=articleamp;sid=426 -- Check out this exchange between two sages of cyberspace on this subject [cf Indo-French exercises]: SAGE #1: Hi Gilbert Menezes, I read your paens of praise to the Navy. .. ... ... .. ... ... As someone who has long been convinced that poverty, illiteracy, hunger and disease are our real enemies (not someone who lives across some border, and might have another religion or language), I was not fully convinced by your arguments. .. ... ... .. ... ... Romanticising the role of the military is fine. Remember: it has come at a huge cost. Nations like ours, with millions still leaving a sub-human existance, have a long way to go before we can afford such luxuries. For that matter, given the fragile shape of the environment, I think no country needs or can afford the luxury of war games. Let's focus on targets that affect the lives of the people. FN SAGE #2: Fred, You are raising the guns versus butter argument, which has been used by many peaceniks over the centuries, and debated ad nauseam. i.e how many hospitals and schools can be built for the cost of a modern stealth submarine costing 600 million dollars. I am all for ploughing most of our GDP to uplift our poor masses. That does not mean we should not spend 3% of our GDP for the nations defence, which we are doing. If you make statements about defence expenditure, maybe you would like to quantify as to how much we should spend for external security, or are you in any way suggesting that we should disband the armed forces and plough back the 79,000 crores in this years budget to feed our 250 million people who live below the poverty line? You are welcome to your opinion, but I will not sit under my coconut tree, and listen to someone say that the sacrifices of our thousands of dead servicemen over 3 wars and many skirmishes over the past 50 years have been in vain, or because no or little external threat exists today. .. ... ... .. ... ... I would request you to have some balance, unlike some of your colleagues from the media, who sometimes see ghosts when none exist. Your biggest error is to think that the Armed Forces of a nation are a *luxury* . It is true that every nation should be mindful of defence expenditure, because it is *unproductive * expenditure. Therefore, most nations have spent historically about 3% of their GDP annually on defence, which we do. I agree that this level should be adjusted marginally depending on the threat perceptions,reviewed from time to time, but unfortunately, more than 50% of it is spent on pays(of serving personnel) and pensions(of poor guys like me) regards, Gilbert Menezes STRIKE TWO, Goanet! One more vacuous exchange like this and it will be Sayonara, senhors and senhoras (or whatever)! (Just kidding.) Cheers. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
[Goanet] CA/PS XI: CHECK OUT THE SIMILARITIES!
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20060404--1m4miramar.html Airport board looks at moving military Joint use could be dropped at Miramar By Jeff Ristine UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER April 4, 2006 From the Pentagon on down, military figures have told the Airport Authority that joint use of the Miramar Air Station would endanger the installation's training and national-defense mission. Now the agency wants to see what could be done by taking the joint out of joint use. Without removing any of its other dwindling options from the table, the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority board voted 6-3 yesterday to explore ideas that require moving certain military operations somewhere else to allow the separate operation of a commercial airport. With the military refusing to engage in what if scenarios, board members said they simply want to see if they can come up with a win-win solution of their own that could draw enough voter and congressional support to bring civilian military leaders to the negotiating table. Nothing too elaborate is expected from the vote, a follow-up to committee action instigated last week by San Diego Councilman Tony Young. The agency staff said it can research Miramar ideas without any additional budget expenditure, leaving it up to the nine-member board whether and how to use any concepts brought back for review. This is not locking us into a particular idea or solution, said board member Paul Nieto. Lemon Grove Mayor Mary Teresa Sessom, a longtime critic of the military airport options, characterized the concept as kicking the Marines out of Miramar. The proposal isn't quite so blunt, referring only to certain assets at Miramar being repositioned. In February, the board's technical consultants presented the idea of building a military-only runway at Camp Pendleton to allow the Marines to move simulated carrier landing practice, a key activity at Miramar that requires precision use of airspace and plenty of room for error over undeveloped land. The idea got cold-shoulder treatment from an assistant Navy secretary and went nowhere with the board's strategic planning committee. A senior Marine Corps official attending the board meeting declined to comment after yesterday's vote, in which Sessom, Xema Jacobson and Robert Maxwell dissented. But the move is a departure from the methodical analysis of costs, airspace and environmental impacts that has typified the airport site-selection project in its final weeks. Besides joint use at Miramar, Camp Pendleton and North Island, the agency is considering civilian sites in East County's Boulevard and the Yuha Desert of southwestern Imperial County. The board tentatively is expected to complete its work within the next two months, selecting a proposal to present to voters in a countywide ballot measure Nov. 7. With much of the analysis still under way, the North Island option - which would leave Lindbergh Field still in operation - has been handicapped by findings on difficulties posed by crosswinds. The Imperial County proposal is burdened by the estimated $15.2 billion to $18.5 billion cost of a maglev train to serve the location. Sessom, echoing views of military representatives expressed in previous discussions, said a go-for-broke approach to Miramar ignores the conclusions of the Pentagon's 2005 Base Realignment and Closure project, which left San Diego unscathed. That review - the military's own assessment of the efficiency of its assets - concluded the bases in San Diego County already are configured the way the military wants them, she said. Putting too much faith in a military solution, Sessom said, runs the risk the agency will have nothing to show for its effort when Lindbergh Field reaches its capacity of 260,000 operations a year. But board member William D. Lynch said if the board fails to work something out with the military, it is almost guaranteed to remain stuck at Lindbergh. The military, Lynch said, is going to stand firm on this until some higher authority, if you will, can address the issue of competing interests. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: %(user_optionsurl)s This email sent to %(user_address)s
[Goanet] RE: Re: Re: Fred's bluff [III]
I thought it might repay study if we examined the implications of Fred's theme of Navy as Landlord. Let's recap the salient excerpts for this purpose: Fred wrote: As far as the Dabolim airport goes, the Navy -- like any landlord -- is sitting pretty on an asset that few realised the value of till the charter logjam just a few years ago. It's not going to give up its asset and its infrastructure easily, I responded: Recently I heard on a Goa channel that the Navy believes the airport is worth either Rs 70 thousand crores (or Rs 17 thousand crores as the Hindi/Konkani expression escaped me). I later added: Confirmation of the figure Rs 70 thousand crores came on March 31 in the TOI supplement Goa Plus. It is attributed to the Rear Admiral in charge of the Navy's Goa base. Think about it. It converts to the princely sum of U.S.dollars 16 BILLION! What is there at Dabolim that makes it so valuable? Either the Rear Admiral is projecting prime property prices of Delhi and Mumbai (of Rs 1 lakh per sq m!) onto Dabolim or he is projecting earnings from an oil field under the runway. Seriously, this may not be a simple error of extra zeroes. The Navy does seem to be harbouring this strange delusion about Dabolim rupee values. I remember hearing something like Rs 25,000 crores (one third of the present estimate!) a little over a year ago on goanet. I remember comparing it with a figure for Hickam Air Force base a frontline Ameican military base at Honolulu International Airport. The figure given is a relatively piddling $450 MILLION! Thus a major part of the contradictions in Goa society over Dabolim and Mopa Fred observes is due to information inaccuracies and distortions such as the above. So there we have it. What does all this imply? The two main implications in my view briefly are: 1. The Navy is a source of serious disinformation as far as Dabolim is concerned. Any fool should realise that if it had actually pumped in Rs 70,000 crores into the Dabolim facility then it (Dabolim) would not only be the most fantastic one in India but in the whole world! Think about it. This mind boggling sum is the equivalent of pumping in Hickam Air Force Base's current asset value every year for 35 out of the past 45 years! 2. The other implication is that the Navy uses the imaginary investment figure to argue that this simply cant be replicated overnight at Seabird hence ruling out a move of its Dabolim air activities to that more remote and appropriate base. Elements of the disinformation factor are also at work here. Initially there was glib talk of a 6000 foot runway (only) at Seabird (which was of course peanuts compared to 70K crore Dabolim). But this probably would have sufficed for Harrier training since these have eventually to operate from carrier flight decks. Then this suddenly evaporated when calls for a shift from Dabolim became vociferous last year. At that point the tune changed to only helipad. So ... Cheers. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: %(user_optionsurl)s This email sent to %(user_address)s
[Goanet] RE: Re: Re: Fred's bluff [II]
Some further thoughts on this thread for what its worth: Fred wrote: As far as the Dabolim airport goes, the Navy -- like any landlord -- is sitting pretty on an asset that few realised the value of till the charter logjam just a few years ago My new response: OK maybe times change. Maybe its time to replace the ancient 1961 divide with a new watershed year in the modern era viz 2005. Pre-'05 it was all smooth sailing for the Navy largely because of the apathy of the populace as Fred has pointed out. Post-'05 the Navy would realise that it has a fight (intellectual not physical) on its hands whereby its cherished dream of replicating Fightertown, USA in a peaceable part of the world is going to be challenged at every step not just in Goa but from all over India. I wrote: 3. Your characterisation of the Navy as a landlord is a dead giveaway! HASG too recently questioned the need for the Navy to own such vast tracts of land in the vastly changed scenario at the air station. Recently I heard on a Goa channel that the Navy believes the airport is worth either Rs 70 thousand crores (or Rs 17 thousand crores as the Hindi/Konkani expression escaped me). Is this based on historical cost or market value (i.e. of 1700 acres of Vasco land)? Who spent this money? And what does the Navy enjoy, outright ownership rights or mere administrative control responsibilities at the President's pleasure? My current take: Confirmation of the figure Rs 70 thousand crores came on March 31 in the TOI supplement Goa Plus. It is attributed to the Rear Admiral in charge of the Navy's Goa base. Think about it. It converts to the princely sum of U.S. dollars 16 BILLION! What is there at Dabolim that makes it so valuable? Either the Rear Admiral is projecting prime property prices of Delhi and Mumbai (of Rs 1 lakh per sq m!) onto Dabolim or he is projecting earnings from an oil field under the runway. Seriously, this may not be a simple error of extra zeroes. The Navy does seem to be harbouring this strange delusion about Dabolim rupee values. I remember hearing something like Rs 25,000 crores (one third of the present estimate!) a little over a year ago on goanet. I remember comparing it with a figure for Hickam Air Force base a frontline Ameican military base at Honolulu International Airport. The figure given is a relatively piddling $450 MILLION! Thus a major part of the contradictions in Goa society over Dabolim and Mopa Fred observes is due to information inaccuracies and distortions such as the above. Fred wrote: As the Father of independent Tanzania, the late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere will be remembered by his famous saying: It can be done; play your part In this context, my view too is that India, like a lot of other 'developing' and 'developed' countries, spends too much money on its military. My present response: Lets earnestly hope that such pious words will in due course translate into a meaningful stand regarding the incongruous military presence in Goa and especially at Dabolim. Cheers. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: %(user_optionsurl)s This email sent to %(user_address)s
[Goanet] RE: Re: Re: Fred's bluff
In the 'sixties, the business community of Vasco da Gama came out with a petition against the Navy taking up too much land in the area. ... But is is wholly misleading to suggest that the large army presence and the Dabolim airport issue is an argument favouring continued Portuguese ruleAs far as the Dabolim airport goes, the Navy -- like any landlord -- is sitting pretty on an asset that few realised the value of till the charter logjam just a few years ago. It's not going to give up its asset and its infrastructure easily, and the deep contradictions within Goan society (take a look at Mopa versus Dabolim) are probably going to just make it easier for them to do so...the battle against forms of colonialism is never over; and, for villagers in Saleli, even the power of Panjim could be seen as a colonial power!..The questions we need to ask is: ...Does our society have checks and balances against politicians or industry running amok and bartering the future for short-term selfish gain? ...[Fred Noronha] I was interested in the above points in your discursive post. My questions: 1. Recently HASG complained that 300 acres of land adjacent to Dabolim airport had been given to Zuari. Was this perhaps a result of the agitation you mentioned? 2. The large military presence in Goa may not be an argument in favour of Portuguese rule as you rightly suggest but certainly it may be highly curious if not questionable on any objective security (military/economic) calculus. 3. Your characterisation of the Navy as a landlord is a dead giveaway! HASG too recently questioned the need for the Navy to own such vast tracts of land in the vastly changed scenario at the air station. Recently I heard on a Goa channel that the Navy believes the airport is worth either Rs 70 thousand crores (or Rs 17 thousand crores as the Hindi/Konkani expression escaped me). Is this based on historical cost or market value (i.e. of 1700 acres of Vasco land)? Who spent this money? And what does the Navy enjoy, outright ownership rights or mere administrative control responsibilities at the President's pleasure? 4. In view of the above would you consider adding the military to the groups needing checks and balances? In the USA they have what is called Base Realignment And Closure (BRAC) where there is some recourse against arbitrariness and a measure to adjust with the times. We dont seem to have anything like that in India. It seems to me that based on the Goa experience of quasi military rule (i.e. by choking Dabolim in particular and aviation in Goa in general) it may be high time that such a mechanism was introduced in India too. Perhaps these points may be worth discussing. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: %(user_optionsurl)s This email sent to %(user_address)s
[Goanet] RE: Hyderabad set for new-look airport
The project promises to deliver a dream airport that will offer a never-before flying experience. http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=122108 GMR now eyes non-aero business PUMMY KAUL HYDERABAD, MARCH 29: With work on the upcoming Rs 1,760-crore new international airport in full swing at Shamshabad - spread across 5,400 acres and about 20 kms off the city - GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL) is now focusing on developing its non-aeronautical business plans. Non-aero business, estimates GHIAL's chief operating officer T Srinagesh, will initially account for about 50% of the total revenues, but would eventually go up to as much as 75%. Towards that, GHIAL - a joint venture company promoted by GMR Group (63%), Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad (11%), Andhra Pradesh government (13%) and Airports Authority of India (13%) - will finalise its cargo contracts, caterers, maintenance and repair overhaul (MRO), aircraft fuelling and retail concessionaires in the current year. Besides, the group also plans to set up budget hotels and an airport-based special economic zone to lure manufacturers of high-value products like computer chips, electronics, and gems and jewellery. GHIAL has already shortlisted three global cargo operators out of the eight, which had shown interest, and would take a final decision by next month. The company plans to set up a joint venture with the operator, who would manage the cargo terminal with a capacity of one-lakh tonne per year. For setting up a fuel farm, it has shortlisted eight companies including Indian oil, BPCL and Reliance Industries. A final decision would be taken by August 2006, Mr Srinagesh said. GMR is also roping in MROs for the airport. However, contrary to expectations, the company is not in talks with aircraft manufacturers like Boeing and Airbus, but with five global MROs including Lufthansa Technik of Germany, besides Zurich-based SR Technical and Singapore's ST Aviation. The selection is likely to be completed within six months. Who's In Talks With GHIAL MROs: Lufthansa Technik, SR Technica, ST Aviation Aviation Fuel: All oil PSUs and Reliance Industries Retail: Alfa Retail, G-Heinamann, Arienta and Aldeza To develop its retail business, the company is in discussions with eight retailers for setting up duty-free shops and food and beverages stores, Mr Srinagesh said. Hitherto, the company has awarded two major contracts - one for building passenger terminal building (PBT), runway and Air traffic control tower and the other for airside and landside works contract worth Rs 615 crore to China State Construction Engineering (Hong Kong) and Rs 495 crore to Larsen Toubro respectively. - Is this the kind of development (at Mopa) which is eating Churchill Co? Pity. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: %(user_optionsurl)s This email sent to %(user_address)s
[Goanet] RE: Neri jumps on anti-Mopa bandwagon
It is because the pols want to see which is the most favourable wind. For their next election campaign. The pols don't really care for the right way; they only look for the popular way. This would explain their (the pols') myopia if not virtual self-centredness, Gabriel. They run the real risk of not being able to fool ALL the people ALL the time even though public memory may well be rather short! But what about the illustrious fourth estate, our great journos? Specifically, in connection with the point in Neri's reported statement about revoking the Union Cabinet resolution, this is 6 YEARS old, for crying out aloud! It seems to have sunk without a trace in Goa until it was resurrected 6 months ago by Churchill. And Neri is only now following the logic involved. But we still dont know for sure whether Churchill took one stand 6 years ago and is taking a diametrically opposite one now as alleged by Ramakant Khalap. I personally recall that one year ago he was FOR Mopa, provided Dabolim could continue. Now he says Mopa never or else. So the basic question: How do we keep the pols honest and whose responsibility is it in the first instance to re-charge public memory? Cheers. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: %(user_optionsurl)s This email sent to %(user_address)s
[Goanet] CA/PS X: REGIONAL vs INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=euLTJbMUKvHb=412 359ct=2102379 Marine Corps, Hand Over the Depot By ELIE A. SHNEOUR Wednesday, March 29, 2006 There are three reasons why San Diegans have been fruitlessly arguing about where to put a new airport for the past three decades without a resolution. We don't really know what we want, we can't realistically make up our mind and we don't bother to examine the issue in depth, while the ground has been moving under us all along. A good example for this multifaceted dilemma is a voiceofsandiego.org column written by Pat Shea, a San Diegan I respect, entitled Put a New Airport in the Desert. There are valid arguments to be made in favor of this alternative and it was unnecessary and counterproductive to dub those who might argue against that proposition as whiners and nay-sayers with good jobs, special interests, and the like. It is this kind of gratuitous poisonous labeling that inhibits a productive debate on the issue. Above all, there are two separate issues to consider about a new airport. San Diego needs to expand our regional airport facilities to accommodate the growing needs for the future. It is an undeniable fact that Lindbergh is rapidly reaching its limit and unless provisions are made to enlarge them, and made soon to overcome it, San Diego will suffer the consequences. But one should not forget that there is another serious problem looming over the horizon, and that is San Diego needs good access to an international airport. Lindbergh carries the designation of being an international airport that stretches the point. Flying to and from Mexico or Canada does not cut it. For a short time British Airways made a try after spending about a half a million dollars to upgrade its facility, but gave up when it had too few passengers and too little working space to accommodate its aircraft. Let us consider the regional airport issue: This means commercial air access to U.S. destinations, with a few (diminishing) flights to Canada and Mexico. Most of these flights will take less than three hours and will include a (diminishing) number of transcontinental flights. For these extended flights, San Diego passengers will eventually have to depart from Los Angeles. If you have any doubt about these statements, try to find major U.S. airlines ready to publicly admit and act otherwise. The long-term projections for the economic advantages of transcontinental flights suggest that Los Angeles will trump San Diego. Again, if you have any doubt about that, just check out the evidence in my earlier articles in The San Diego Union Tribune and voiceofsandiego.org about Montreal vs. Toronto, more than 300 miles apart. It makes no economic sense to have two major transcontinental airports just 150 miles apart. But that is another story. Does it make sense to you the reader, if you take into account the economic close proximity of Los Angeles to San Diego, to seriously accept the notion of spending tens of billions for a major regional airport 90 miles away in the Imperial Desert, connected by enough rapid ground transportation? Do you seriously believe that this kind of money is going to be made available anytime in the foreseeable future? Most specialists estimate that it is likely to take at least a decade after the money becomes available to make this a reality. Then look again at what happened to Montreal, a city about the size of greater San Diego with the same airport problem. It is quite unrealistic to compare Washington, our capital city with a very large set of extensive suburban centers and a vast professional population, for its saga about Dulles International Airport, 40 miles away. Baltimore Friendship Airport and Reagan Airport took care of Washington for years and still does. Sure Denver's new airport is also 40 miles away, but it is on a very high frequency commercial air travel path without any other large city around, and not at the far end of the line as San Diego lies. So what seems to be the answer to a realistic higher capacity regional airport for San Diego? What about Miramar? Other things being equal, and they are not, the thin concrete runways there are fine for fighter aircraft, but are they really suitable for large passenger ones? And for anyone who is a pilot, the idea of dual use is not a serious one for high frequency use. That this was even proposed sends chills up and down my spine. It is never likely to happen. And forget about the other major military facilities. They are essential for U.S. security and should be allowed to remain so, but with one possible exception: The Marine Corps Recruit Depot can be moved and the Marines should be amenable to this because it could make Lindbergh viable as the one most reasonable alternatives, at the lowest cost and shortest time. It would help the military as well in many ways. That is, in my view, the only realistic way to go. As to a much needed international
[Goanet] HASG BUILDS UP TO A BANG ENDS IN A WHIMPER!
The Hoteliers Associatioon of South Goa (HASG) has published the third in its series of pro-Dabolim/anti-Mopa salvoes. In this one it sheds some rare and interesting light on the goings-on IN Dabolim airport. It seems Navy personnel regularly cross the runway on motorcycles, [in] cars and even bicycles at two different points on either side of the terminal during gaps between flights. This seems to be a big no-no and should be stopped soonest! It may not be a good habit to perpetuate at a civilian airport. HASG goes on to make some relatively detailed suggestions for the release of land for parking bays, greater use of the push-back truck, increase of night flights, addition of a terminal in future etc. However it discounts the need for car parking space in favour (obviously!) of space for coach parking. In addition, it blandly suggests that planning for Mopa can be deferred for another 10 years as a result of the foregoing [overdue!] measures, while ruling out the equally valid route of 'building up' the Mopa option (without deleterious effects on Dabolim's continued operation) without further delay! What takes the cake is the following statement in the HASG advt.: Dabolim is a naval and not an Air Force base [subtext: it doesnt need so much land!]. The Navy occupies 1400 acres at Dabolim of which 25 acres have been given for civilian use. The rationale for acquiring this amount of land after the Liberation was to secure all high areas for security reasons. THE CIRCUMSTANCES ARE DIFFERENT TODAY. THE NAVY COULD CONSIDER GIVING 100 ACRES OF LAND FOR CIVILIAN USE AT DABOLIM AND EARN THE GOODWILL OF THE PEOPLE OF GOA BY RELOCATING SOME OF ITS ACTIVITIES TO THE SEABIRD PROJECT IN KARWAR[emphasis added]. All I will say at this juncture is: Why only 100 acres? And why 'relocate' only some of the Navy's Dabolim activities to Seabird? The whole kit and caboodle could go without adversely affecting the Navy's strength and readiness on the west coast significantly! What do you say? HASG is too polite, right? _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: %(user_optionsurl)s This email sent to %(user_address)s
[Goanet] VALMIKI, GET MARUTI TO START MDS IN GOA! [2nd try]
http://www.financialexpress.com/latest_full_story.php?content_id=121808 Maruti to teach you to drive world-class Creating new benchmarks in safety, Maruti Udyog Limited on Monday announced it would set up 15 world class driving schools in India in the next three months, as it launched two such institutes in Kerala. The Maruti Driving Schools (MDS), opened at Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, are the first in the country. Among the cities where MDS would be opened are Jammu,Delhi, Gurgaon, Bangalore, and Chennai, MUL Director (Marketing) K Saito told reporters here. As part of a Pilot project, Maruti opened driving schools at Bangalore, Chandigarh and Kollam last year and taking into consideration the overwhelming response, it was decided to start more such schools, he said. Pointing to the accident ratio in India and Japan, he said India had 10 million vehicles and the traffic accidents were an alarming 87,000 a year against Japan's 74 million vehicles on roads and an accident rate of 8,400 a year. Concern about the mounting deaths on Indian roads, led the car manufacturer to focus on road safety and traffic management, he said. While we are requesting the government to set up a national road safety board to improve safety, we believe that Maruti as the market leader, also has a role and so this initiative of setting up the Maruti driving schools across the country. The training course at the school was as per international norms. All learners would get classroom training, practical training and attitude training. The students would be first training on simulator on which they can practise all car controls like steering, accelerator, brakes and gear shift before they take the actual vehicle on the road, P K Parimoo, DGM (MDS) said. All MDS instructors would have to undergo training for 15days at the Institute of Driving Training and Research (IDTR) in Delhi. A batch of 25 instructors, including 10 women, from Kerala who will impart training at MDS have been trained at IDTR. While there will be a standard learning package for beginners, the MDS will also offer the flexiblity of additional learning modules so that learners can design a curriculum of their choice, Ravi Bhatia, General Manager (Sales and Support) said. All practical training would be in Air conditioned cars. On the fee structure, Saito said it would be Rs.3500 for a basic learner's programme. About three lakh heavy commercial vehicle drivers had been trained at IDTR, he said. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: %(user_optionsurl)s This email sent to %(user_address)s
[Goanet] IS GOA PUTTING THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE?
http://www.business-standard.com/strategist/storypage.php?chklogin=Nautono= 220057lselect=2leftnm=lmnu7leftindx=7 Strategic tools for the practising manager KIT Technopak Advisors / New Delhi March 28, 2006 This week: Indian Aviation Industry (Domestic) The Indian domestic aviation market is estimated at about 19 million passengers and is expected to reach 45 to 50 million by 2010. India is the world's fastest growing aviation market, with the number of passengers rising by 26 per cent in 2005 alone. More than 300,000 Indians pay for first-class rail tickets every day, whereas the number of flights per person is just 0.014 every year. Opportunities exist across the region in areas such as funding start-up airlines; airport expansion and modernisation; hotel and resort development; and tourism infrastructure - including golf courses, theme parks, cruise terminals, highways, and convention and exhibition centres. - Seems to me Goa is very active in downstream areas like golf course, cruise terminal, convention centre and expressway planning but it has not resolved the bottleneck in the upstream area of airport control and expansion (including multiplication). As a result the intermediate area of hotel and resort development seems to have come to a standstill. Note that passenger growth in 2005 was a whopping 26% for the country as a whole. And the forecast is for an increase of about 5 mllion passengers a year for the next four or five years. It would seem that a concerted effort needs to be made to pull down the Great Wall of Goa -- at Dabolim and Mopa airports. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: %(user_optionsurl)s This email sent to %(user_address)s
[Goanet] RE: Neri jumps on anti-Mopa bandwagon
Filipe said he will take up with Chief Minister, Pratapsing Rane the need to retain Dabolim as an international airport and the need for immediate release of the promised central grant for the upgradation of Dabolim. The Minister asked MP Churchill Alemao to request the high-level committee constituted by the Union Civil Aviation Ministry to revert the Union Cabinet decision to close down Dabolim after the commissioning of Mopa. Most of these points could have been made 6 months ago! Why are the pols so slow in getting it? In his address, Dr Ernest Rodrigues said the airport feasibility report clearly shows that the Mopa airport will **only** benefit southern Maharashtra, Why is the TEF report not being made public? This point doesnt make sense as Mopa is meant to be an airport FOR Goa (as substitute for Dabolim). _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: %(user_optionsurl)s This email sent to %(user_address)s
[Goanet] VALMIKI, GET MARUTI TO START MDS IN GOA!
http://www.financialexpress.com/latest_full_story.php?content_id=121808 Maruti to teach you to drive world-class Creating new benchmarks in safety, Maruti Udyog Limited on Monday announced it would set up 15 world class driving schools in India in the next three months, as it launched two such institutes in Kerala. The Maruti Driving Schools (MDS), opened at Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, are the first in the country. Among the cities where MDS would be opened are Jammu,Delhi, Gurgaon, Bangalore, and Chennai, MUL Director (Marketing) K Saito told reporters here. As part of a Pilot project, Maruti opened driving schools at Bangalore, Chandigarh and Kollam last year and taking into consideration the overwhelming response, it was decided to start more such schools, he said. Pointing to the accident ratio in India and Japan, he said India had 10 million vehicles and the traffic accidents were an alarming 87,000 a year against Japan's 74 million vehicles on roads and an accident rate of 8,400 a year. Concern about the mounting deaths on Indian roads, led the car manufacturer to focus on road safety and traffic management, he said. While we are requesting the government to set up a national road safety board to improve safety, we believe that Maruti as the market leader, also has a role and so this initiative of setting up the Maruti driving schools across the country. The training course at the school was as per international norms. All learners would get classroom training, practical training and attitude training. The students would be first training on simulator on which they can practise all car controls like steering, accelerator, brakes and gear shift before they take the actual vehicle on the road, P K Parimoo, DGM (MDS) said. All MDS instructors would have to undergo training for 15days at the Institute of Driving Training and Research (IDTR) in Delhi. A batch of 25 instructors, including 10 women, from Kerala who will impart training at MDS have been trained at IDTR. While there will be a standard learning package for beginners, the MDS will also offer the flexiblity of additional learning modules so that learners can design a curriculum of their choice, Ravi Bhatia, General Manager (Sales and Support) said. All practical training would be in Air conditioned cars. On the fee structure, Saito said it would be Rs.3500 for a basic learner's programme. About three lakh heavy commercial vehicle drivers had been trained at IDTR, he said. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: %(user_optionsurl)s This email sent to %(user_address)s
[Goanet] RE: CA/PS IX: TARGET FIXATION VS OPEN MIND
Again the issue of similarities and differences with civil aviation at Dabolim/Mopa in Goa. I managed to get feedback on this post privately from a couple of American friends. One, David, who is situated in the Northeastern U.S., said he had a relative (since deceased) who was a Navy flier based in San Diego. The other, Mel, a licensed private plane pilot, is settling in the Southwestern part of the U.S. He has visited (perhaps made an expedition to would be the more apt expression!) Goa in the mid-60s. (Maybe the latter expression still applies though the 'nature' of the challenge may have changed with the times!) Anyway, David shed valuable light on the historicity of the situation as well as the process part. As regards the former, he wrote The three [military] sites in San Diego are very constrained, and have been for many years home for the navy fliers on the west coast of the US. So I am not surprised by the response of the Navy and Marines. But he approves of the 'process' currently being followed saying At the same time, it sounded to me as if the city is trying to work through a reasonable process. Mel succinctly highlights the end game aspect. He said, As a civilian pilot of small planes, I don't think civilian and military airspace mix well. Yes, if one were on an island and there was room for only one air-field, but otherwise, it would seem to me that it would make more sense to differentiate the two - and keep them as far apart as possible. The last phrase is the key! Here it is not just Mopa that assumes significance in this connection but Seabird Karwar too! Especially the latter in my opinion. But as David ruefully pointed out, Its hard to get the military to change -- both in San Diego and in Goa! Cheers. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: %(user_optionsurl)s This email sent to %(user_address)s
[Goanet] RE: Goa govt presents feel-good budget
Except for this link and a couple of other (rather plebeian) posts on the Goa government budget, budget analysis in Goa has generally 'Goan' with the wind! HERALD editorialised today about the effect of beer availablity on youngsters. Navhind Times had an op-ed article which was a paean to CM Rane's 'general' financial acumen honed incredibly as a farmer (but precious little about this year's budget specifically)! Yesterday HERALD had a half page write-up about the budget inserted by the Dept of Information Publicity of GOG. Compared to the Business Standard link it was painful reading. It was like a 'dhobi list' of 150 items grouped under 20 different heads in four columns. There was no vision, focus, thematic treatment, direction etc to speak of. I was interested in a few items. Goa Institute of Management has been awarded the second installment of Rs 50 lakhs as a grant. (When did it get the first one?) International Centre has been awarded Rs 1 crore presumably as a single new grant. Goa University meanwhile has received Rs 2 crores. No mention of Mopa is made in the HERALD advt. But elsewhere some one came up with a figure of Rs 4 crores for something related to it. As per the Business Standard link the Goa budget is a 'Rs 4000 crore' one. This figure also finds NO mention in the advt. What are the major sources and uses and the tax burden proposed to be levied on the common man? It seems that merely because of a booming national economy the government fnances such as those of Goa are rosier than one would expect. All in all, the Goa govenment does not cut a very impressive figure, in my lay person's opinion, in financial strategy and disclosure matters. _ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: %(user_optionsurl)s This email sent to %(user_address)s
[Goanet] RE: CA/PS VI: HOW AIRPORTS DRIVE DEVELOPMENT
After someone has had a chance to digest this very readable account we can discuss the similarities and differences with Goa (i.e. Dabolim and Mopa). The most glaring difference between this account and the Dabolim/Mopa situation of Goa is that the former seems to deal with a unidirectional development vector viz growth. You put a new airport virtually in the boondocks and it stimulates economic growth or development over the years or so the argument goes. The problem in Goa is that we have to deal with the spectre of disruption too. Any growth at Mopa will be at the cost of disruption due to closure of Dabolim (unless the Cabinet resolution of 2000 is revoked). In the story under review there is no mention of closure of old airports in Washington, DC, Denver, CO etc. One might say that why is a hue and cry being made about closure of Dabolim when nothing comparable happened when Bangalore HAL and Hyderabad Begumpet were slated for closure when BIAL and HIAL came on stream. It may be worth thinking about this point. For what its worth, the Defense Ministry at one point was reportedly willing to allow HAL to continue to operate as a short haul airport until this got changed in the negotiation process. Now of course the Defense Ministry must be biding its time to utilise HAL, Begumpet -- and Dabolim --- as airports solely for VVIPs relying on helicopter rides for last-mile connectivity.
[Goanet] CHAOS IN BANGALORE TOMORROW; IN GOA, DAY AFTER
http://www.businessworldindia.com/MAR2706/indepth03.asp Three to Tango No one transport system is enough to fix Bangalore's crumbling infrastructure. The city needs three Nelson Vinod Moses There is an ambitious plan to fix Bangalore's crumbling transport infrastructure. Ambitious, because it involves creating two new transport systems - a conventional metro rail project and an unconventional monorail project - and then meshing both into an existing network of 4,000 buses that run on 4,600 km roads. Bangalore is willing to risk such an audacious plan because it is desperate. Its roads are already gasping - the city has the highest number of vehicles per lakh of population. About 900 vehicles are added every day to the city's 26.8 lakh vehicular population. As these fight for space on the arterial roads, average driving speed has already dropped from an estimated 20 kmph in 1990 to between 12-16 kmph at present. Bangalore's reputation as a world-class tech cluster is getting jaded because of its poor infrastructure (see 'Holding On'). There are indications that the monorail will be designed to support the Metro. But there seems to be no coordination between the Metro and the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses, which currently services more than half of the city's transportation needs. But BMTC, rather than complement the proposed Metro, is seeking to compete with it. BMTC is talking about its own transport system; it is talking about a grid system. We are not aligned like New York to have a grid system, claims Ramanathan. Bangalore's streets are circuitous and winding when compared to the more simpler grid formation of New York streets. In the future, Bangalore will have to live with a network of three main transport systems - metro, monorail and BMTC buses. If many transport systems have to co-exist with the Metro and complement it, four main issues have to be tackled: comprehensive connectivity, integration of various transport systems, affordability, and marrying urban development with transportation, says Ramanathan. But all that is still many, many years away. First, given the state of Bangalore's new flyovers, the government's ability to finish the project on time is suspect. The city is going to get a whole lot worse once the digging and construction begins. We are in for chaos as the Metro is going into the heart of Bangalore. I have no faith in the (project's declared) timelines, says Ramanathan. -- The hand-writing is right there on the wall, amigos! Dont say you have not been warned. Cheers.
[Goanet] CA/PS VIII: BERLIN LANDS ON HERALD'S RADAR!
-- | Read V.M. de Malar's latest Column: | || | Politics of Destruction | || | http://www.goanet.org/index.php?name=Newsamp;file=articleamp;sid=416 | -- Story: Berlin Air Hub Cleared for Take-off (HERALD, March 24,'06) A more detailed perspective: http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1142555964.html A German court gave the long-awaited green light on Thursday for a new airport in Berlin that would open in 2011 and consolidate the capital's three existing airports into a single hub. The idea to develop a single modern airport for Berlin was hatched some 15 years ago, amid the euphoria that followed the fall of the Berlin Wall. But as the city's hopes of becoming a booming metropolis faded amid the reality of a shrinking population and huge public debt, the airport project was scaled down. It has now come to symbolise the city's struggle to adjust to re-unification. In 2003, a construction permit was finally granted to transform Schoenefeld -- a modest airport in southeast Berlin that has become a European hub for Easyjet. The new airport will absorb capacity shared between Schoenefeld and Berlin's two western airports, Tegel and Tempelhof. Some 17 million passengers passed through the three Berlin airports in 2005, well below totals in Frankfurt and Munich -- cities with a combined population half that of Berlin's. The project's supporters, including Germany's airlines, have argued that construction of a single hub airport is essential to boosting the profile and attractiveness of Berlin, which until last year did not even have direct transatlantic flights. The new airport will be the most important infrastructure project in east Germany and experts have said it could create 40,000 jobs in a region where one in five people is unemployed. But critics of the new airport abound. Some Berliners like the convenience of Tegel, just a 15 minute drive from the Brandenburg Gate, while others are loath to see Tempelhof, the airport where US planes landed during the 1948-49 Berlin airlift, shut. Some experts are also dubious about whether a new hub airport will attract more passengers through Berlin. Berlin is an anomaly. It's the capital of the most populous country in the EU but it has few flights outside the bloc, said Dan Solon of airline consultancy Avmark International. Still, I'm not sure there's a real case for a huge new airport. --- The important point here is that Berlin with a total area of less than 1000 sq km (vs Goa's 3700 sq km) has been functioning with not one but THREE airports. Ok partly the numbers are due to politics (East Berlin/West Berlin etc). And the economy is of course much more developed than ours. But multi-airport systems are not unrealistic even if we reduce the relevant area in Goa to 2000 sq km (semicircle with a 70 km diameter, the distance between Dabolim and Mopa). This should put to rest the tired arguments about two airports being too many for a tiny state like Goa. There is nothing God-given about the dynamics of two airport systems. They have to be managed -- right from design to operation. That's all.
[Goanet] CA/PS VII: THE VALUE OF ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20060322--7m22airport.html New airport talks cover old ground By Jeff Ristine UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER March 22, 2006 A Florida congressman dropped into San Diego, assembled all the major viewpoints in the airport search, heard a two-hour capsule of the fractious debate and left everyone with this advice yesterday: I encourage you to work together, said U.S. Rep. John L. Mica, chairman of the House aviation subcommittee. Maybe you can come up with some creative solutions. Maybe. But the Airport Authority, military, political, business and community figures - assembled on neutral ground for the first time in the site-selection project - stuck pretty much to the themes and arguments that have divided various factions in the final months of the process. Business leaders don't want to settle for a congested, single-runway airport as the regional economy grows. The military says joint-use proposals for Miramar, North Island and Camp Pendleton are inherently unsafe. And the airport authority wants a little understanding as it tries to figure out how to meet air-passenger travel demands in 2030. It's a very polarizing issue in our community, said Xema Jacobson of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. We have to make sure we can do whatever proposal is on the ballot. But Filner, who favors Imperial County for a regional airport, linked to San Diego by a maglev (magnetic levitation) high-speed train, said afterward that something was gained just by getting everybody in the same room. Major Gen. Michael R. Lehnert, commanding general for seven western Marine Corps installations, said tactical fighters and commercial jets, a scenario being studied for Miramar and North Island, don't mix. It would be like putting a Greyhound bus and a Formula 1 racer on the same track, Lehnert said. Compare this to what passes for a roundtable discussion over Dabolim/Mopa. Have a committee with Goa's CM, 3 MPs and two bureaucrats. Make it decide whether Goa should have Mopa OR Dabolim. Then have the recommendation reviewed by the PM who would probably consult the Defense Minister and Civil Aviation Minister. And the PM's final decision in all probability would be go ahead with Mopa as is, where is! What a pathetic national decision making scenario!
[Goanet] SIGNS OF MILITARY 'INTELLIGENCE' IN GOA
Yesterday's HERALD had this short letter by Lt Col Sylvester M.D'Souza (Retd) of Sangolda titled Airport Debate Needed which made the eminently sensible suggestion that it is high time there was a round table discussion about the airport situation among key players like the Navy, Airport Authority, Government, Industry etc. Significantly he says, They must come together to have a reasoned and informed debate on the various issues involved such as lack of upgraded infrastructure like aprons, bays, taxiways, and terminal facilities among other things. These would need to be taken up on a priority basis till Mopa takes shape as Dabolim will still be needed. Here is one person who is talking of ground reality (at Dabolim) and not being fooled by statistical abstractions purportedly about usage levels. Of course, he doesnt seem to have bought into the idea of the need for two airports in Goa -- yet. But that may be understandable for a military person. Also he seems to have overlooked the importance of airlines as a key player. One other thing, I dont see the GCCI statement about Mopa he refers to as having appeared on March 19th. In HERALD that day there was only the anti-Mopa statement by HASG. Maybe there was something by GCCI in another newspaper.
[Goanet] RE: CA/PS V: WHEN EXPERTS DIFFER ...
Professor Richard Carson said the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority's projections are inflated because they rely on faulty economic assumptions, such as that fares will gradually decline and that people will fly more often as their incomes rise. Carson conducted an independent analysis of the need for a new international airport and presented his conclusions to an advisory airport panel March 2. Seth Young, a business professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla., who was hired by the authority to review Carson's forecast, said the UCSD professor may be correct in assuming residents won't fly more as they earn more. However, Young said that doesn't matter much because airlines likely will introduce flights to many new markets, which will spur air traffic growth well beyond what will be generated locally by San Diego County residents' travel habits. http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=euLTJbMUKvHb=412 359ct=2071517 Economically Challenged By ROB DAVIS Voice Staff Writer Tuesday, March 21, 2006 Carson contended that the authority's 2001 economic analysis used to demonstrate the need for a new regional airport is flawed. He told the board some of its assumptions looked like a boosterism effort and suggested that its authors take his introductory-level economics class. Instead of building a new airport, Carson said, the authority could instead manage future capacity demands at Lindbergh Field by using larger planes and by auctioning landing and takeoff slots to airlines at peak times. But board member Robert Maxwell wasn't buying the idea that airlines would simply buy new fleets to accommodate San Diego's capacity issues. And board member William Lynch questioned Carson's assertion that San Diego could manage growing passenger traffic without building a new airport. --- --- --- --- Young and Carson agree that passenger traffic will continue increasing in San Diego. While Carson thinks it can be managed, Young said it can't. If a new airport isn't built, Young said the city will miss out on a huge potential for non-stop service to mid-sized cities such as Omaha and Oklahoma City. The region's potential to grow would be limited by constraints imposed by Lindbergh Field's current capacity, he said. Compare this sober dialogue with the fish market style slanging match we find in Goa's media over Dabolim and Mopa! Am sure we can do better. We must! Cheers.
[Goanet] CA/PS VI: HOW AIRPORTS DRIVE DEVELOPMENT
http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=euLTJbMUKvHb=412 359ct=2070029 Put a New Airport in the Desert By PAT SHEA Monday, March 20, 2006 Having attempted to convert the city of San Diego's underused and poorly managed Brown Field municipal airport into a privately financed and managed air-cargo facility, I can share some realities with the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, and the public, about airport development. First, regional airports are big economic generators. Really big. All the econo-geeks agree. You pretty much can't do anything more economically stimulating. It allows promising area businesses to become great. It attracts far more new companies than, say, a sports stadium or baseball park. It produces a tsunami of well-paid, career-type jobs, white and blue collar, union and non-union. The whiners don't like that story. But, don't believe the nay-sayers -- most of them already have good jobs and their special interests, not the public's interests, are usually at the heart of the opposition. If you want better jobs in the future and good jobs in your kids' future, it's hard to beat a working airport for sheer economic promise delivered. Airports are really hard to do. Before taking on the Brown Field project in 2001, I was anecdotally told by a government guy that it was easier to invade a foreign country than to franchise a new airport. Seemed like an overstatement at the time. It wasn't. Airports stimulate great visionaries and public leaders, but also breed economic small mindedness and sycophantic civic cowards. You can not avoid either in this quest. So, in the end, that means that you have to really want to go forward enough to stand up the blowback that will occur. Our prior political leaders were certainly not up to it. The airport authority will not find a little safe place where everybody likes what they do. If we do this, history will be our final judge, but there will certainly be some interim judging that will be, well, a bracing experience for the weak of will. Where to put it? Depends on what you are trying to achieve. As a general rule, new big regional airports are usually sited way out there. Couple of reasons for that: First, you want to be able to grow into the airport for about the next 100 years. Remember the first rule: Airports are very hard to do. So, do this one like you won't be able to have a do-over for, say, 200 years. When Dulles International was commissioned 50 years ago in 1958, they sought a 10,000-acre site. To get there, they had to cut a four-lane freeway over 40 miles into thick forest. I first landed there many decades ago and rode into D.C. for 60 minutes through forest you could not see through. You also did not see a car, or truck, a yak, or anything. It was like landing on the moon. Today, every foot of that forsaken highway is packed with great corporate and commercial buildings populated by well-paid folks that live in nearby residential areas. You see, you need the open space to fill in over time that generates the jobs, growth and wealth of the area. And, the growth comes. Dulles did 2.5 million passengers in 1975. It's up to 40 million-plus now. In full build-out, it will do 55 million annual passengers (over 150,000 people per day and mega-tons of cargo). How about Denver International in Colorado? It opened in 1995, about 40 miles from downtown Denver, in what was then the middle of the boonies. (Note, it's geographically a bit easier to site airports in places that with land all the way around the center of the city. That's not the case here: we can't go west because it is inconveniently filled with salt water; can't go south due to a foreign flag; can't go north because people got there first and now everybody lives there; so, the only two real options are east, or in the middle of the city.) Denver pitched its airport tent on 53 square miles of property. Yikes! That's five times as large as Manhattan! They now have six runways and did 42.4 million passengers with in year 10 of its existence. It's a big dog. There is no question The San Diego Union-Tribune supports the airport moving from Lindberg to Miramar, even if the Marines do not think that such a good idea. You probably have observed that nobody builds a new regional airport in the middle of an established cityscape, for a couple of good reasons. One, because it is threatening to immediate neighbors (NIMBY's don't just live here). Remember, Lindbergh Field did about 17.4 million passengers last year, or about one air operation (a landing or take off) per minute. Dulles and Denver are at about 42 million passengers (plus cargo, which we don't have). So if you put a major airport like Dulles or Denver at Miramar, you are talking about three or four air operations per minute over Penasquitos, Scripps Ranch, Tierrasanta, UTC and La Jolla. Busy skies forever. And two, because the new economic fizz has no where to go if all the space around
[Goanet] RE: Memories of another Panjim... [Re-post]
I was greatly interested to read this account of Panjim by one who I have been fortunate to have as a then-unknown guest a few years ago in my pre-Goa home a thousand kilometres away along with a Panjimite whom I knew. After reading the article I cannot help feeling that as a word picture it beautifully complements Mario Miranda's sketches of Goan scenes. The cute factor is really very high. There is no guile whatsoever in evidence anywhere. No doubt it helps evoke nostalgia perhaps as intended. But the downside may be that it would reinforce a tendency to regard Goa as a place which need not be treated very seriously. That is a big mistake, I feel. Anyway, I very much hope I can renew my acquaintance in person with Isabel de Santa Rita Vaz at an early date.
[Goanet] RE: Goanet Reader: Memories of another Panjim...
I was greatly interested to read this account of Panjim by one who I have been fortunate to have as a then-unknown guest a few years ago in my pre-Goa home a thousand kilometres away along with a Panjimite whom I knew. After reading the article I cannot help feelng that as a word picture it beautifully complements Mario Miranda's sketches of Goan scenes. The cute factor is really very high. There is no guile whatsoever in evidence anywhere. No doubt it helps evoke nostalgia perhaps as intended. But the downside may be that it would reinforce a tendency to regard Goa as a place which need not be treated very seriously. That is a big mistake, I feel. Anyway, I very much hope I can renew my acquaintance in person with Isabel de Santa Rita Vaz at an early date.
[Goanet] WEASEL WAYS: PUT DOWN ... OR BUILD UP?
QUOTE OF THE DAY -- ON DABOLIM: Only 32 aircraft land on the busiest day (at Goa's lone Dabolim airport). At present, there are not even 800 flights per month to Goa. Mumbai airport handled 14,361 and Delhi handled 13,346 flights in the month of November 2005, with only one operational runway. Dabolim will never have a demand anywhere near the figures handled by Mumbai or Delhi airports. -- Statement by All Affected Hoteliers of Goa, countering the view that Goa's Dabolim airport will be saturated in 25 years time. [Goanet News Bytes * March 20, 2006 * ] --- clap clap clap clap
[Goanet] CA/PS IV: HOW THE DECK STACKS UP
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20060307--1m7airport.html Military bases stay on airport site list Majority on board backs further study By Jeff Ristine UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER Military sites will remain on the list for further study as possible joint civilian/military airport locations, a regional agency decided yesterday. Discussion at the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority meeting bared the deep divisions over the future of the site-selection project. The 5-3 vote found a majority willing to devote as much as $3 million for a technical analysis of Camp Pendleton, North Island Naval Air Station and the Marines' Miramar Air Station, despite opposition from military leaders on issues ranging from national security to airline passenger safety. Critics said the analysis would be futile because the military will never make the bases available for joint operations, much less exclusive use. Others said military priorities could change by the time a new airport would need to be built. The work has to be done in the interest of a comprehensive study of airport options for San Diego, they said. With or without military cooperation, board member William D. Lynch said, This group is supposed to look at a very difficult situation and come up with a recommendation. Results of the military analysis by Ricondo Associates are expected next month. Board member Paul Nieto, who voted for additional study, said the consultants' work could well uncover very serious flaws in joint use. The board hopes that by May it can come up with a site recommendation for the Nov. 7 ballot. Besides the military bases, the Airport Authority is considering civilian sites in Boulevard and the Yuha Desert of Imperial County. It also is studying an expansion plan for Lindbergh Field, but that idea requires land occupied by the Marine Corps Recruit Depot. Capt. Mike Allen, chief of staff for Navy Region Southwest, told the board there is no reason to expect that any future changes in military preparedness would free up space at any of the bases for a civilian operation. If you're trying to create a hope, I think that's a false hope, Allen said. The F-18 training by student pilots ought to be enough to rule out Miramar for commercial operations, said Col. Gregory Goodman, commanding officer at Camp Pendleton. As a citizen, I would not want to fly out of Miramar if it were to be a joint-use facility. Lemon Grove Mayor Mary Teresa Sessom, executive board member Xema Jacobson and board member Robert Maxwell all voted to drop further study. No means no, said Jacobson, referring to a message in a recent Pentagon letter that was said to reflect the views of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. We have to be honest with the voters. Nieto, Lynch, board Chairman Joseph W. Craver, Vista Councilman Morris Vance and San Diego lawyer Paul Peterson favored continued study. (San Diego Councilman Tony Young left the meeting before the military sites vote.) There will be NIMBYs no matter where we go, said Nieto, adding that the agency needs to defend itself against accusations it didn't fully explore all options. The board unanimously rejected a fourth option that called in part for a new runway at Miramar. In related developments: Voting 5-4, with Young opposed, the board dismissed any further analysis of a one-runway supplemental airport in North County. Analysts said Rancho Guejito and a site near Valley Center were physically suitable for an airport, but consultants said a two-airport idea would be financially risky. The San Diego County Taxpayers Association outlined conditions for its support of the airport recommendation on the November ballot. The downtown organization said the authority must report any costs for infrastructure associated with a new airport, such as highway improvements, and provide a strategy to pay for them. --- Our civil enclaves such as Dabolim should also be subjects of in-depth study for exclusive future civil aviation purposes. They should not be given the holy cow treatment that they are getting at present.
