When dreamers talking big, really big...
By Andrew Kircher
BARCELONA, Spain (Reuter): For anyone who has ever daydreamed about building the world's tallest skyscraper or digging the longest tunnel, the bizarre "Super-projects" conference is the place to be.
The third annual meeting, held last week in Barcelona's Villa Olympica, brought together 200 dreamers, consultants and executives from all over the world to talk big -- really big.
To qualify as a bonafide super-project, a plan must cost at least $1 billion. It should also affect the local economy, enhance the environment and improve the quality of life.
Projects already underway include Hong Kong's new $16 billion airport complex and a $27 billion water scheme in Libya.
Still on the drawing board is a plan to build a tunnel linking Europe and Africa via the Gibraltar Straits. There are ideas for sea water desalination systems, gene mapping projects and the development of bacteria that can neutralize toxic waste.
One of the most bizarre ideas comes from New York lawyer Michael Lacher who wants to buy Siberia in order to exploit its natural resources.
"The concept is not far-fetched," he said.
"After all, Russia once owned Alaska and we didn't have any trouble absorbing it. Once upon a time, they called that colonialism but I don't think it's colonialism."
If buying part of Russia proves a bit tricky, Arizona engineer George Koumal says building a $37 billion tunnel under the Bering Straits would at least link the area to America.
Koumal has funding from the State of Alaska and has already spent $250,000 on drawing up plans.
The money did not stretch to a feasibility study but he is convinced the project would boost global trade and lift morale on both sides of the Pacific Ocean.
"It would again be possible to say in the U.S.: Go West, young man'. And in Russia, it would be possible to say: Go East, young man', he said.
A mixture of idealism and hard-headed realism fires the minds behind the dreams.
New wonders
"(Super-projects) will produce new wonders of the world to thrill and inspire the world's people. They will improve world morale. But most importantly, they will be built in order to meet the basic needs of humanity," said McKinley Conway.
Conway is a former U.S. senator from Georgia and current chairman of the Atlanta-based, non-profit World Development Council (WDC), which sponsored the conference.
Around one third are as yet only ideas, plans are being drawn up for another third and the rest are already underway.
Some of those in Barcelona were drawn by the scent of possible lucrative contracts, especially for construction firms.
"I came to network, to see what projects are going on around the world," said Tony Williams of the British-based WT Partnership, a construction management and cost consultant group.
He had made four or five good contacts and said: "If I leave here with that kind of hit, I'll be happy."
Some project managers came to learn how others deal with growing environmental, political and economic challenges. Boaz Wachtel of the human rights group Freedom House criticized some of the ideas for bringing badly-needed water to the Middle East, saying they ignored regional politics, and put forward his own proposal for a "Peace Water Pipeline".
This would channel water from a Turkish lake and divide it evenly between Israel, the Palestinians, Syria and Jordan. Super-project managers are getting better at turning dreams into reality but they have room to learn, said Peter Morris, director of special projects at London-based Bovis International.
Morris said 99 percent of the projects he studied in the mid- 1980's cost more than their original price tag and management teams who overlooked potential conflicts, such as environmental challenges, were often to blame.
"If we are to manage our projects successfully, we have to change our focus. We have to manage our projects at a more strategic level," he said.
"Those who think about world programs must think big, very big. We must undertake the greatest development program in the history of the world," he said.
Big is the key-word for next year's meeting in Japan where the Shimizu Corporation wants to build the "City of the Future" -- a huge pyramid that could house one million people.
Another Japanese plan aims to construct a 300-floor skyscraper which would dwarf Chicago's Sears Tower, currently the world's highest building with 110 floors.
"There is that one-upsmanship," said Conway.
"Everyone wants to have the tallest building in the world. In Japan, the only way to go is up. But I don't think anybody would feel comfortable living or working that high up."