Thus, Narita Airport may be described to have been in a suspended state between the
rnid-1960s and 1978. Although, in retrospect, the completion of the airport seems
inevitable, a question may be raised when infrastructures are suspended or abandoned: is this an anomalous situation, or an unusual state of affairs?
In contrast, Notre-Dame-des-Landes (30 km from Nantes, France) or Aéroport du
Grand Ouest Project was intended as a new airport to serve as an international
gateway for western France. The concept started in the late 1960s, and the project
finally approved by government in 2008, with construction expected to begin in
2014 and with an opening date in 2017. Initially, the airport would have a capacity of
four million passengers yearly, gradually increasing to nine million by 2050. This
compares favourably with the present capacity at Nantes Atlantique of three million
passengers yearly, a capacity which cannot be augmented due to the airport’s
proximity to the city centre (at only 8 km – 5 miles). The new airport would have
two runways, and would be linked to the French motorway and rail networks.
However, there were many protests, in spite of a majority of voters (in 2016)
supporting the construction. Finally, in 2018, the French government has abandoned
plans for the proposed €580 m (£513 m) airport, a delicate decision that previous
governments had evaded for decades.
From several perspectives, this is seen as a bad decision squashing important
issues:
1. public procedures, such as the 179 legal decisions already taken.
2. trampling on local authorities and on the decentralisation spirit.
3. affects the area and particularly for its economic development and businesses.
4. serious defeat for public decision and poses serious questions of the State’s ability
to decide.
5. the rule of law has been overruled by a minority of protesters.
Thus, in this case, the project implementation was abandoned, even before it
started.
Figure 7.6 shows some of the possibilities that may occur during project
implementation.
In some countries, for example India, ruination foreshadows even the project
completion, due to inferior construction, partly arising from the use of inferior
materials that construction companies are compelled to employ after disbursing a
large portion of the contract value as bribes. Other authors (Gardner 1972; Archer
1995) have also mentioned bribes in their stories, although with less disastrous
effects. Notwithstanding small reductions in their expected profits, construction
companies cannot provide state of the art structures at a lower cost than those of
specified materials. Potential ruins are thus inherent in project completion. Often, the
moment the project is completed, and officially declared open, repairs start. And the
repairs are funded through the provision of annual expenditures on leaky infrastructure. Needless to say, further siphoning may follow from this source as well.
Strangely enough, large infrastructure projects requiring massive investment and
resources are challenged from concept to completion. After that, disagreement
usually disappears. The infrastructure projects are overlooked precisely because
216
7 Economic and Social Aspects of Infrastructure
rnid-1960s and 1978. Although, in retrospect, the completion of the airport seems
inevitable, a question may be raised when infrastructures are suspended or abandoned: is this an anomalous situation, or an unusual state of affairs?
In contrast, Notre-Dame-des-Landes (30 km from Nantes, France) or Aéroport du
Grand Ouest Project was intended as a new airport to serve as an international
gateway for western France. The concept started in the late 1960s, and the project
finally approved by government in 2008, with construction expected to begin in
2014 and with an opening date in 2017. Initially, the airport would have a capacity of
four million passengers yearly, gradually increasing to nine million by 2050. This
compares favourably with the present capacity at Nantes Atlantique of three million
passengers yearly, a capacity which cannot be augmented due to the airport’s
proximity to the city centre (at only 8 km – 5 miles). The new airport would have
two runways, and would be linked to the French motorway and rail networks.
However, there were many protests, in spite of a majority of voters (in 2016)
supporting the construction. Finally, in 2018, the French government has abandoned
plans for the proposed €580 m (£513 m) airport, a delicate decision that previous
governments had evaded for decades.
From several perspectives, this is seen as a bad decision squashing important
issues:
1. public procedures, such as the 179 legal decisions already taken.
2. trampling on local authorities and on the decentralisation spirit.
3. affects the area and particularly for its economic development and businesses.
4. serious defeat for public decision and poses serious questions of the State’s ability
to decide.
5. the rule of law has been overruled by a minority of protesters.
Thus, in this case, the project implementation was abandoned, even before it
started.
Figure 7.6 shows some of the possibilities that may occur during project
implementation.
In some countries, for example India, ruination foreshadows even the project
completion, due to inferior construction, partly arising from the use of inferior
materials that construction companies are compelled to employ after disbursing a
large portion of the contract value as bribes. Other authors (Gardner 1972; Archer
1995) have also mentioned bribes in their stories, although with less disastrous
effects. Notwithstanding small reductions in their expected profits, construction
companies cannot provide state of the art structures at a lower cost than those of
specified materials. Potential ruins are thus inherent in project completion. Often, the
moment the project is completed, and officially declared open, repairs start. And the
repairs are funded through the provision of annual expenditures on leaky infrastructure. Needless to say, further siphoning may follow from this source as well.
Strangely enough, large infrastructure projects requiring massive investment and
resources are challenged from concept to completion. After that, disagreement
usually disappears. The infrastructure projects are overlooked precisely because
216
7 Economic and Social Aspects of Infrastructure