As reported in the FCCC newsletter, Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport has the speediest visa checks of any major airport in the world, according to a survey by the Airports Council International (ACI), a trade representative of the world’s airports. Terminal 2 of Pudong International Airport has 47 channels and can deal with 70 to 90 passengers a minute. Almost 70,000 passengers use the airport daily, with a record high of 95,000. Second and third in the ranking are Seoul Incheon International Airport and Beijing Capital International Airport. China has two more airports in the top 10 list. Longjia International Airport in Changchun, capital of Jilin province, ranked fifth, followed by Meilan International Airport in Haikou, capital of Hainan. Every quarter, ACI asks a survey institution to determine and review about 100 airports around the world, in a survey based on 36 standards, such as facilities and service.
Now, the article does not mention U.S. airports, I guess those must be miserably down the list. Arriving in the U.S. is often a poor experience with long waiting for immigration and utterly annoying customs people. Welcome to China, less so to the U.S.
Gilbert on Beijing Radio AM774
I was interviewed by Bruce Conolly on 20 November in my office, our Scottish radio man with the “pleasing and clear voice” (says my wife). He recorded enough for a couple of clips on the radio. It was a fun experience. I also sent him some old-time pictures.
Two already were aired, see here the links.
Unfortunately you need Windows to listen to the audio as the website is still stuck in the 20th century. Does not work on MAC. If you connect on WeChat to the service, you can listen also on your iPhone.
Program 25 November:
From Belgium to calling Beijing home
http://am774.rbc.cn/netfm/english_service/ourteam/bruce/201311/t20131125_707485.htm
Program 29 November:
Beijing Hong Kong and back to Beijing
http://am774.rbc.cn/netfm/english_service/ourteam/bruce/201311/t20131129_707651.htm
Some more to come it seems. Keep posted!
Seminar with Beijing Development & Reform Commission
On 7 November, the European Chamber (EUCCC) invited Mr. Peng Bo from Beijing Development and Reform Commission, the Department of Fixed-asset Investment and Department of Foreign Investment Utilization and Outbound Investment, responsible for the utilization of foreign investments and managing foreign invested projects. It is part of the Chamber’s series of Exclusive Dialogues. The meeting was held through the Public Procurement Working Group, chaired by Gilbert Van Kerckhove.
Note: I worked in BDRC ten years ago where I promoted PPP, using it for the Olympic projects (Stadiums); I made a detailed study on how to carry out PPP projects. Due to the impact of the China Bidding Law, most of our great PPP ideas got killed. What China today is promoting as BOT, PPP, whatever, is a watered down concept that does not respect the true PPP philosophy. The way projects are currently presented carry too many restrictions to be really considered as PPP. No any other country, as far as I know, has ever implemented “TOT” (transfer Operate Transfer), an oxymoron in terms of PPP. As a result, China does not enjoy the benefits of PPP at its fullest. The only ever PPP project in China: Laibin B Power Plant.
Mr. Peng gave the members a briefing on the “Implementation Plan on the Promotion of Infrastructure Projects Through the Introduction of Private Capital”, released in July this year. He introduced the background of this policy, its exact parameters and details regarding its implementation, as well as BDRC’s next-step-plan concerning private capital. He also answered questions raised by members. Both parties agreed on more future cooperation and exchange.
Follows a briefing on the “Implementation Plan on the Promotion of Infrastructure Projects through the Introduction of Private Capital.” This an abbreviated version of the complete report that was made available to members of the Working Group. Members also received the following documents (all in Chinese): Implementation Plan, Case study brochure, Glossary, Catalogue of pilot infrastructure projects.
China started to stress the importance of private capital in 2005/2006, when a policy titled Several Opinions of the State Council on Encouraging, Supporting and Guiding the Development of Individual and Private Economy and Other Non-public Sectors of the Economy (the so-called Old 36 Clauses) was released. Another key policy was released in 2010, namely the Several Opinions of the State Council on Encouraging and Guiding the Healthy Development of Private Investment (the so-called New 36 Clauses).These were followed by corresponding policies in Beijing issued in 2011 and industry-based measures aiming to encourage private capital issued by relevant ministries in 2012. Such policies laid down principles, but left details as regards their implementation unclear.
The release of the Implementation Plan is due partly to municipal government’s lack of money (over the following three years, the municipal government is to invest 10 billion RMB/year in air quality improvement, sewage treatment, waste management respectively while its investment in underground will remain unchanged, a total amount of 500 billion RMB investment is expected for the transformation of shanty towns but most of which will come from private investors), and partly to BDRC’s willingness to introduce a clearer and more feasible regulation. The Implementation Plan is not a reform plan sensu stricto, but a policy serving to systematize existing successful approaches.
Objective: to industrialize these sectors and make them independent from government subsidies. The internal rate of return (IRR) will approximately be 8%.
Pilot projects: initially 27 projects, 99 others will follow
The Implementation Plan covers three categories of areas:
– Operational sector (where financial return can cover cost): e.g. power sector
– Quasi-operational sector (where financial return cannot cover cost): e.g. rail, sewage treatment and waste management sectors
– Non operational sector (where there is no financial return and thus the sector has to rely on government buy-back): e.g. urban road sector
The Implementation Plan covers six sectors: rail, urban road, comprehensive transport hub, sewage treatment, heating supply and solid waste management. BDRC is currently working on two additional sectors: healthcare services and elderly care services.
A new idea to clean the air in Beijing?
Everyday you read about new ideas what to do about the Beijing pollution.
Now, the Dutch came up with a novel way to take the pollution particles out of the air:
Beijing Will Test This Giant Smog-Devouring Pollution Vacuum
http://gizmodo.com/beijing-will-test-this-giant-smog-devouring-pollution-v-1450019111
“Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde’s latest project: he plans to build and test a pollution-collecting system in smog-addled Beijing. Billed as an “electronic vacuum cleaner” for Beijing’s polluted skies, the so-called Smog system throws an unexpected solution at a complicated problem. Much in the same way that a static-charged balloon attracts hair, this pollution-devouring set-up uses copper coils buried under grass to create electrostatic fields and attract smog particles to the ground. Once pulled from the sky, the particles can be compressed and repurposed.”
The video is misleading because the dust is supposed to go down instead of going up.
It works very much like a giant electrostatic filter that you find in some air cleaning machines.
All nice but I wonder what the possible impact could be on human beings (and animals) walking inside that field. Or if it may attract lightning?
Well, anyway interesting to see what will happen with the idea.
BENCHAM lunch in Temple Restaurant Beijing
On Monday 21 October the Benelux Chamber of Commerce in China organized an “elaborate lunch for a selected group of diplomats, and high-level management of Benelux companies” (sic). The lunch was sponsored by Chimay and we had the chance to taste three different Trappist beers.
The lunch was to welcome the Belgian Ambassador H.E. Michel Malherbe.
Location: Temple Restaurant, the rather famous and exclusive restaurant, close to the north gate of the Forbidden City, in a small hutong. See www.temple-restaurant.com. A very nice setting, only a little difficult to find.
I am sure I was there many years ago for a company event when the restaurant was not there yet.
The food: well done and tasty, though all small portions – typical for those “high-end restaurants”. All dishes were prepared with Chimay beer:
- Panache of Shellfish with Triple Chimay (mussels from Morel’s … little inside information!)
- Braised Beef with Chimay Blue (better known in Flemish as stoverij!)
- Gratinated Zabaglione with mandarin Orange with Red Chimay
The staff was not properly briefed on how to serve the Trappist beer (not as wine! hold the cup inclined! or you end up with a lot of foam and spilled beer…). Coffee was served at random, a bit strange.
The other guests seemed to be all Chinese. As far as I understand a typical meal there is easily RMB 500 to 700 without drinks.