Naypyidaw Capital City:
Project background
Naypdidaw, a city that has 20-lane highways, golf courses, fast Wi-Fi and electricity, and extends 6 times the size of New York city was built from scratch as a new capital by then military government. It was designed to encourage economic development in Myanmar by creating an advanced city with state-of-the-art infrastructure and facilities like roads and bridges with comfortable residential spaces. Moreover, it features a 325 ft Uppatasanti pagoda modelled after Shwedagon Pagoda, and a grand National Museum. According to some estimates it was built at the cost of $10 billion, which is a huge amount for a poor country like Burma.
Relevance to Discipline:
As already stated in the project background part, the city has 20-lane highways which I think is enough to show its relevance to transportation engineering. The city has network of roads and bridges to accommodate various kinds of vehicles to ply. Designing a city 6 times the size of New York certainly requires high level implementation of urban planning. It may even require innovative approaches to solve the problem arising as the project is one of its kind. The project even focuses on sustainability aspects for road and infrastructure that even makes it more vital for civil engineering arena.
Project failure:
The major reason for declaring this project as a failure is that it has been economically unviable, the maintenance costs exceed the economic output of the city. Further, its location is far from the major old cities with large crowd and centers of decision making so it makes hard for investors. In addition, the city is sparsely populated and hence there’s little economic activity. It was mostly built with loan so it is again an extravagant unsustainable venture. Hence, for those reasons the project should be seen as a failure.
Hambantota port
Project background
Hambantota port is located in Sri Lankan deepwater. It was built as a joint venture project between Sri Lanka and China which was constructed between 2008 and 2010. This port is a megastructure than was targeted to serve large ships as a transshipment hub. The main advantage with this port is that it is located right in the path of major shipping lanes and has direct access to Indian ocean. The project costed whopping $1.4 billion which was funded by Chinese government.
Relevance to Discipline:
To cater the maritime transport demand we need ports, and is a key feature in transportation engineering. The project has been developed to handle large vessel and containers moving between Asia and Africa. In addition, the port is integrated with road and railway which makes is more important as it allows smooth handling of cargo to and from the port. The efficient design of network of transportation to make such a grand level of port work continuously is a major challenge in overall civil engineering discipline.
Project failure:
The port could not generate targeted revenue to pay back loan to China and hence is leased to China for 99 years now. The major reason for its failure was lack of demand at the port. Also, the port is located at location far from the major activity zone. Various other entities along with Indian government warned Sri Lankan government about the fate of the project but they did not heed to it leading to major setbacks. This project not only put the nation into debt but also created national security issues. Hence, this project in my stance should be regarded as a major failure.
Brooklyn Bridge
Project background
The Brooklyn bridge connects Brooklyn and Manhattan, it is 5,989 ft long with longest span of 1,595.5 ft. Completed in 1883 after 14 years of construction work, the bridge is first steel wire suspension bridge to be built. Though the bridge had a dramatic story as the chief engineer along with other 26 died during construction phase. It is unique not just for its structural system but also because of finesse of Gothic art carved on it bridge and has become a tourist attraction throughout years. Tall towers hold the bridge deck 276 ft above the water allowing easy passage to cruises and ships. The cost of construction of this bridge was $15 million at that time.
Relevance to Discipline:
A bridge is an essential element of transportation engineering. The Brooklyn bridge was designed to address the transportation issue of the Brooklyn city in the late 19th century. The bridge that was designed to serve horse drawn carriages and train still serves for modern cars, cyclists and pedestrians in general is a shining example of innovative and robust structural engineering.
Project Success:
The bridge should be regarded as successful project as it has been able to successfully solve the prevailing transportation issue. Moreover, it has been standing tall since its construction though it required some repairs in 1980s due to constant wear and tear. The bridge also became an icon for the city and the carvings on the bridge inspired many across the world. The project was completed despite major setbacks like death of chief engineer and workers setting an example in engineering realm. The most important aspect for engineers was its structural system, it was the first steel wire suspension bridge ever constructed. Hence, I think the project should be categorized as successful.
Channel Tunnel
Project background
Channel Tunnel, arguably one of the greatest achievements of engineering in 20th century, was built in 1994 connecting UK and France. The tunnel spans total of 50.5 Km of which 37.9 Km is under sea. The 24/7 and 365-days operating tunnel features 3 separate tunnel: 2 for trains and 1 for maintenance. It took 6 years to build at the cost of £9 billion. The trains are highspeed trains that runs at 160km/h which makes is fastest method of carrying large quantity of food and other import/exports.
Relevance to Discipline:
The project is an example of extreme civil engineering and pushes the extents of its subdisciplines like geotechnical and structural engineering. The project required top geotechnical investigation by top experts to be able to build a tunnel that long not just on land but under water too. Not to mention that this project wouldn’t have been possible without minute understanding and precise calculation of structural aspects of the Tunnel.
Project Success:
The project changed the European travel forever expediating the economy of Europe as a whole. The project management was so good that it got completed within the time with the estimated budget. It has been able to open economic opportunities not just for people of UK and France but of the Europe as a whole. The project was complex and was handle impressively well, in addition there have no major accident since opening of the rail tunnel. Hence, it should be seen as a successful project.
Transcontinental railroad
Project background
Transcontinental railroad is the project that impacted millions of lives in America by connecting eastern and western coast of the country. The total length of the railroad is 1700 miles which took 6 years to build. The project once built helped move goods and people across USA more efficiently thereby connecting rural live to major cities. The mammoth project required immigrants from across the world who later settled in America for better livelihood. The project was built through uninhabitable zones and harsh climates which peril the lives of workers inevitably yet they subdued the challenge with immutable courage and hard work. It is estimated that the project was built at the cost of $140 million in 1869.
Relevance to Discipline:
This project is not just a masterpiece of civil engineering but also unprecedented management skills as people from different countries with different culture and languages were involved in the project. The long railroad required to overcome harsh terrain requiring multidisciplinary knowledge like surveying, bridge design, geotechnical engineering etc.
Project Success:
The project once completed opened door for more projects as the goods and labor can be easily carried across the country. This mainly transformed western USA, and allowed more people to settle there. New infrastructures like other roads and ports were built after this project and this project became a symbol of American progress. Hence, the project must be considered as a success.
Conclusion:
The story of injured Chief engineer, in Brooklyn bridge, who kept performing site supervision using telescope is really touching. Whether it was successful project or ultimately a failure all required human endeavor. Two of the projects discussed viz. Naypdidaw and Hambantota were unsuccessful in serving their purpose essentially because of poor economic viability. It is not always a mere economic assessment that determines the success or failure of a project but also the impact that it has to the masses is the governing factor. The two failing ones do not stand a chance in this aspect too. All the other successful one brought about significant change in the livelihood of people and the nation as a whole.
Lastly, the projects viz. Brooklyn bridge, Channel Tunnel, and transcontinental railroad, epitomize the stringent management and innovative engineering. Detailed planning with engineering knowledge is the key to complete projects within time with limited money.
0 Comments