{mosimage}ULAANBAATAR will have a new international airport by 2015. This will be built with Japanese assistance in Khoshigt valley in Tov aimag, at a place close to Zuunmod, the aimag center, which is about 54 kilometers from the capital.
ULAANBAATAR will have a new international airport by 2015. This will be built with Japanese assistance in Khoshigt valley in Tov aimag, at a place close to Zuunmod, the aimag center, which is about 54 kilometers from the capital. Japanese Ambassador Yasuyoshi Ichihashi has said that his Government will be giving a 40-year loan of US$270 million to help fund the construction work. The interest rate of the loan will be 0.2 percent and repayment will begin only after 10 years will be freed from loan payment, according to the embassy official.
The airport construction together with high speed motorway that connects Ulaanbaatar with the airport are expected to be started in 2011 and be completed in four years.
Mongolia proposed Japan to project for the construction of a new airport as yen loan during Koizumi’s visit in Ulaanbaatar in 2006.
In 2004, Government talked with some international banks US$900 million project on building the airport for Ulaanbaatar in the same place. But no construction had yet begun on this project.
Since the late 1990s, international air traffic to Mongolia has been increasing, and it is expected that the rate will continue to increase at a rapid rate. Weather conditions, fog in particular, some of it due to Ulaanbaatar's severe air pollution, and limited airport capacity are often a severe hindrance to operations at the Ulaanbaatar airport.
newswire.mn
Disgraceful.
That’s all one can say about this new airport concept. A simple prioritizing of the country’s infrastructure needs clearly shows the country should be throwing whatever money it can dig up, at health concerns in particular regarding sewage collection and disposal due to the increasing vast numbers of gers around the city. Next would be the smoke pollution from the gers and power plants. Next would be the roads , schools and hospitals the development and maintenance of which have not kept pace with the rapid influx of the country people. Next would be proper housing at affordable prices for the ger people combined with poverty alleviation incentives to encourage as many as possible of them back on the land
All these things are needed now.
Airport needs are secondary to all these activities. In anycase the current airport meets all current international standards even though as it had a major renovation some 10 years ago. What sort of concept is this new airport anyway? Are there any other aiports in the world in countries of comparable development that are in excess of 30km from the city.? This concept of a new one 54 km is so far from the city that the cost of getting there will be ridiculously time and money consuming , quite apart from the cost and time of relocating of the skilled support personnel who mostly have all lived around the current airport for many generations. Note also that a high speed road link is akin to giving a loaded gun to a child given the dangerous state of the capital’s cars maintenance.
Why is the country mortgaging itself for this high profile and potential white elephant project when other more beneficial, but less exotic are not being carried out.?
It is clear that the ladies and gentlemen with the Lexus and Landcruisers shamefully and openly parked behind Sukkbaatar Square have many fingers in this money filled pie.
Simply disgraceful