[myanmar] Opening of Airport in Man

[darnott@xxxxxxxxxxx]

I suspect that the construction of the new Mandalay airport is another
of the generals' attempts to acquire luck or magical power in their contest
with the Lady -- this time by possession of a large white elephant.

In Burma as in most South and South-east Asia, the white elephant is
traditionally regarded as semi-divine, and is treated with great veneration:
"The 'Lord White Elephant'- or Sinbyudaw- commanded social status second
only to the king in the hierarchy of the  royal court. Sinbyudaw were treated
with reverence and had white parasols held over them wherever they went.
Young white elephants were even suckled  by women in the royal court who
considered it a great honour to feed the  elephant with their own milk"
(Asiatours history of Myanmar http://209.207.203.249/burma/info/history.html )

While it is unlikely that the members of the State Peace and Development 
Council
will literally emulate the ladies of the Burmese court,  we should not be 
surprised to
read of senior officers walking round the airport, shading the runways with 
white
umbrellas, or spraying them with milk from tankers ("borrowed" from local
entrepreneurs).

What is certain is that the new Mandalay Airport is the biggest and most 
expensive
Burmese White Elephant of recent days, and is thus likely to bring good 
fortune
to those responsible. The only problem is that the actual use of the airport by
tourists and other foreigners, arriving in wide-bodied jets and wearing shoes,
could well profane the site and thus reduce the benefit.  With this in 
mind, the
military junta will no doubt do its utmost to discourage tourism by 
stepping up
the frequency of atrocities, increasing the penalties for foreign 
distribution of
leaflets and placing administrative obstacles in the way of air carriers and
tour operators.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


At 07:54 AM 9/18/00 +0600, Eric Snider wrote:
>Myanmar Information - http://www.myanmar.com/
>
>In a posting on the Myanmar Info net (Sept 18) Mo asks:
> >Have you guy done a cost benefit analysis of building this airport?
>
>Good question, Mo, though I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for an answer
>from Okkar on the CBA.
>
>It would seem that 'visons of sugar plums danced in the head' of the Senior
>
>General when planning for the white elephant in Tada-U township began in
>the heady days of 94 and the tourist industry financiers were lining up to
>get in and tell the junta's investment commission about their plans to
>build hotels and bring in a pot of money to the foreign exchange reserves.
>
>But all is not loss.  Did you notice that the military attaches got a bit
>of press out of their presence at the blessed event?  No doubt the new
>facilities are of interest to the strategic planners in Rawalpindi, Delhi,
>Beijing and even Bangkok!
>
>Just for the record, here's a piece by Anthony Davis in the May 29-99
>edition of Asia Week:
>
>---------------------------------------------------------
>
>ASIAWEEK: AIRPORT FOR THE AGES
>28 May, 1999 by Anthony Davis
>
>MANDALAY
>
>IS MYANMAR DEVELOPING A manned space program? Are the Chinese
>eyeing a newplatform for power projection into South Asia?  As it happens,
>no. Butvisitors to a sprawling construction site 45 km. south of Mandalay
>could be excused for thinking so. A recently completed 14,000-ft concrete
>runwaythat stretches across parched farmland near Ta Da U village is
>probably the longest in Asia. On average, runways at international airports
>
>run to 11,000 ft or so. This facility could readily accommodate the world's
>biggest military transports, the supersonic Concord and even a NASA space
>shuttle.
>
>The expanse of concrete is the centerpiece of the new Mandalay
>International Airport. And when it opens mid-July, it is not likely to be
>handling any of the foregoing craft. Yangon is hoping for something more
>prosaic - jumbo jets full of big-spending tourists and businessmen, winging
>in from Europe and Japan to transform Mandalay into a regional growth hub.
>Dream on, generals.
>
>Not that the airport isn't up to the task. It is 10 times bigger than the
>present, dilapidated facility, equipped to handle only domestic flights. It
>boasts a water-treatment plant, fuel farm, state-of-the-art control tower
>and a gleaming $150-million terminal building built by Thailand's
>Italy-Thai company. The terminal can accommodate six wide-bodied
>jets at a time.
>
>The mystery is simply this: Where will the traffic come from? Mandalay is
>a city of monasteries and temples with a sleepy charm. That means regional
>tourism, direct from Bangkok, southern China and Singapore, may pick up.
>But Mandalay is not Phuket, Bali or Shenzhen. "There's not enough for
>tourists to fill jumbos jets from Europe," says a foreign consultant
>familiar with the project. "Small aircraft yes, but this airport was not
>built for small aircraft."
>
>And the local infrastructure leaves much to be desired, as the 45-minute
>ride along a pot-holed road into town attests. Mandalay has three
>international-standard hotels. All are equipped with their own generators.
>They need to be: Six-hour power cuts are routine. Hold it. Anyone got
>NASA's number?
>
>----------
> > From: mo <mo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > Subject: Re: [myanmar] Opening of Airport in Mandlay
> > OKKAR,
> >
> > Have you guy done a cost benefit analysis of building this airport?
> > According to the figure given by the Nation newspaper (article below) on
> > number of tourist visiting Burma last year does not give us a clear
>picture
> > that the benefits will outstrip the cost.  Is the road infrastructure in
> > Burma good enough for the tourists or "businessmen" to visit Rangoon
> > efficiently.   Would the domestic airline manage to coup with the demand
>for
> > flight tickets from Mnadlay to Rangoon?  How much did it cost to built
>this
> > Airport? How much do you owe to this "corrupt Thai company" for building
> > this airport? How money was borrowed from Mayflower Bank (which is
>partially
> > owned by ex-drug lord Law Sein Han)
> >
> > Look OKKAR, once Democracy is in place, Democratic government would not
>like
> > to clean up all your mess in terms of dubious business deals with other
> > foreign companies.  It is very nice of you to say that you guys built the
> > airport but at the people should also be access from the press that how
> > would it benefit them and how much price are they going to pay for it.
>You
> > see that is what we activists want accountability....It is not use brain
> > washing the general population of Burma that Politics has nothing to do
>with
> > the their livelihood or business.......
> >
> >
> >
> > ===========================================================
> >
> > Tourist arrivals in Burma totalled just 120,000 in the 1998-99 season,
>half
> > as many as the government hoped for four years ago. - Associated Press.
> >
> > ====================================================================
> > (1) Mandalay International Airport Worth US $ 150 m and K 6,496m Opened
> > >
> > > A ceremony to open the Mandalay International Airport of international
> > standard in TadaU Township, Kyaukse District, was held at the airport on
>17
> > September. Before the advent of the State Peace and Development Council,
> > there were 43 airports in Myanmar, and today, the number of airports has
> > increased up to 66. Yangon International Airport was opened beginning of
> > 1957. Yangon International Airport which was regarded as an international
> > airport at that time, needed renovation with the passage of time. So the
> > Government noticed to it that Yangon International Airport underwent
>major
> > renovation and modern equipment for air traffic control and passenger
> > transport services were provided.
> > >
> > > Mandalay International Airport opened has characteristics of a
>world-class
> > airport. The runway is 14,000 feet in length and 200 feet in width.
>Modern
> > 747-400 Boeing planes can land and the runway is one of the longest one
>in
> > South-East Asia. There are 26 international air routes passing through
>the
> > air territory of Myanmar and planes from domestic airlines fly in the air
> > territory about 10,000 times every year and those from international
> > airlines, about 60,000 times every year. Previously, the gateway to
>Myanmar
> > linking other nations was just Yangon International Airport. Another
> > gateway, Mandalay International Airport has emerged. Mandalay
>International
> > Airport takes up a geographically-strategic position in upper Myanmar. It
>is
> > situated near Bagan region where most of ancient cultural heritage of
> > Myanmar has existed and Mandalay where Myanma arts and handicraft and
> > Buddhist literature have flourished.Like Mandalay International Airport,
> > Hanthawady International Airport is being constructed near Bago about 50
> > miles away.
> > >
> > > The Vice-Chairman of State Peace and Development Council Gen. Maung Aye
> > formally unveiled the bronze plaque of the airport. The planes of
>domestic
> > airways and those from Thai Airways International touched down at the
> > airport. The airport is located about seven miles south of TadaU and some
>18
> > miles south-west of Mandalay and construction started on 21 March 1994.
>The
> > area of the airport is 25,015 acres. There are six passenger boarding
> > bridges and three of them can handle modern Boeing 747-400 planes. The
> > airport terminal is four-storey building. The basement is for storage of
> > goods and maintenance of machines, the ground floor for arrival
>passengers
> > and the first floor for departure passengers. The second floor consists
>of
> > offices and meeting halls. The airport will be able to handle 8,000
> > passengers a day and three million passengers a year. There are four fuel
> > tanks with the total capacity of 582,000 gallons and filling system is
> > modernized. Seven hundred autos can park at the parking area.
> > >
> >
>
>
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