Mega Mecca

by Benjamin Joffe-Walt
Monday, April 26, 2010

After decades of underinvestment, Islam's holiest city is finally getting an airport.

Saudi Arabia's legislature has approved plans to build an international airport outside Islam's holiest city in an effort to cater to more than two million pilgrims who visit the city each year.

The Shura Council, Saudi Arabia's advisory legislature appointed by the king, unanimously approved the airport. It was part of a proposal in the General Authority for Civil Aviation's annual report to the body.

Since only Muslims are permitted to enter Mecca, the council recommended that the new airport be located outside the city center, so as to allow both Muslims and non-Muslims to fly into the region.

The new airport is part of a Saudi government decision to end decades of underinvestment by allocating tens of billions of dollars to improve the kingdom's transportation infrastructure so more Muslim tourists vacation there and spur the economy.

"You have two types of growing aviation economies in the Middle East," Philip Butterworth-Hayes, an aviation expert and the editorial director of PMi-Media Ltd, told The Media Line. "There are those based on domestic demand and those based on international demand. Saudi Arabia has always had a huge domestic potential aviation sector which has not yet been fully realized. If you look at the potential number of business jet operators and first class passengers, the potential growth is enormous."

"The problem is the industry has been very heavily regulated," he said. "So growth in aviation in the region has gone to the UAE, which has become a major global aviation player. People are now transferring through Dubai rather than Frankfurt or Asia, but Saudi Arabia has actually been much better placed to take on that role because it has the funding and huge amounts of international traffic."

"Now, Saudi is starting to take it's proper role as the next gulf based aviation powerhouse," Butterworth-Hayes said. "So it's not just new airport construction, there are new airlines, business aviation, and new aerospace manufacturing - the four markets which until now have been the reserve of Abu Dhabi and Dubai."

Last year Saudi aviation officials announced plans to invest more than $12 billion in the next decade overhaul the kingdom's airports. It will be setting up a new holding company to manage a total of 27 eventual aviation hubs. Abdullah Rehaimi, president of Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Civil Aviation, has indicated that the company will initially be government owned but will "likely" be privatized "when the time is right."

The plans include new airports, the expansion of of existing airports, a much more extensive rail network, new highways and a new, dedicated pilgrimage airline.

The International Finance Corp, an arm of the World Bank, is assisting Saudi Arabia in the development of three international airport cities in Jeddah, Dammam and the capital Riyadh.

Next month Saudi aviation authorities will float a tender to build the kingdom's first privately owned airport in the Islamic holy city of Medina. The facility, to be built at an estimated cost of at least $1.8 billion, will have a capacity of eight million passengers a year when completed around 2014. It will replace the existing Prince Mohammad Bin Abdul Aziz domestic airport.

David J Bentley, an aviation expert and Joint Managing Director of Big Pond Aviation, said that after watching the boom in its neighbors' aviation industries, Saudi Arabia is beginning to emerge as a serious player.

"While religious tourism remains critically important, thus explaining the investment in airports at Medina and Mecca, the authorities must cast an envious eye in the direction of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar, the other emirates that are starting to build a tourist product of their own and Oman, which is rapidly joining them," Bentley told The Media Line. "Almost 25 Saudi Arabian airports are being expanded or built in order to attract foreign vacationers and 'airport city' complexes are to be added to some, for example at Jeddah, Riyadh and Damman,"

"We see the decision by the Saudi authorities to allocate billions of dollars to airport investment as being testament to the changing tide of opinion inside the Kingdom in favor of a more relaxed approach to both Gulf area and wider, global, incoming tourism after decades of inertia," Bentley said. "The sheer scale of this investment ensures that foreign expertise and capital will be required. Shortlisted companies for the Jeddah Airport City project for example, include both Australian and US concerns and it is likely that some innovative financing variations on the traditional and popular build-operate-transfer schemes will evolve in what is a new investment climate for foreign investors."

Source: The Media Line.
Link: http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=28678.

Aqaba's Tourist Expansion Leaves Sour Taste in Israel

by Adam Gonn
Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Plans by Israeli airliner to begin flights to Jordanian resort town have sparked internal friction in Israel.

Plans by Israeli airliner Arkia to start flying to the Jordanian Red Sea resort town of Aqaba have left the mayor of neighboring Eilat fuming.

Meir Yitzhak HaLevy, the mayor of the Israeli Red Sea resort town of Eilat, has threatened to take action against Arkia should the carrier follow through with plans to setup regular flights to Aqaba.

“I see fit to bring to your attention the content of this meeting, in the hope that Arkia's management will consider its steps and continue to operate for the good of the development and prosperity of Eilat,” HaLevy wrote in a letter to Arkia published in the Israeli daily Globes.

HaLevy claims his remarks were taken out of context.

“When the flights start we will see if we will lose tourists and then we will see what to do” he told The Media Line. “I’m very much in favor of boosting tourism in Aqaba and Taba [Egypt]. It would be a great solution to the geopolitical political problems, but I want Eilat to be in a leading position.”

The Eilat-Tel Aviv route is the mainstay to Arkia’s operations, and the decision to allow the airline to fly to Aqaba was allegedly made by the Israeli Tourism Ministry as compensation for allowing Israel’s largest airline El Al to begin flying to Eilat.

HaLevy, the Eilat mayor, is understood to have been one of the main proponents of the decision to allow El Al to fly to Eilat.

The Arkia flights to Aqaba will operate on Monday and Friday from Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport outside Tel Aviv and a smaller airport in the northern city of Haifa.

Some analysts warn that allowing flights to Eilat by El Al, a much larger carrier than Arkia, will lead to price dumping and El Al forcing its smaller rivals out of business.

“Eilat is very important to Arkia, its our heart, its our best location and we fly there all year around,” Arkia CEO Gadi Tepper told The Media Line. “We don’t want to fight with Eilat but we feel uncomfortable about Arkia being taken for granted by some hoteliers in Eilat.”

“We chose Aqaba not to harm Eilat but because we need to fly our planes and to make money,” he said. “We are looking to Aqaba because there will be El Al flights to Eilat and we don’t think the market will increase.”

“I would be more than happy to take part in any committee meeting [with the Eilat municipality],” he said.

The border between Aqaba and Eilat, know on the Jordanian side as the Wadi Araba crossing and on the Israeli side as the Yitzhak Rabin crossing, is the main point of entry for tourists of any nationality traveling to Jordan to visit Petra, the ancient desert city famous for it’s temples carved out of red mountains.

At the moment, tours from Israel to Petra must go to Eilat by air or land and then cross the border to Aqaba, an inconvenience which the new Arkia route will allow tourists to skip.

Judging from the reaction of tour operators in Aqaba, the new route is likely to be a success.

Hussein Abbadi, owner and general manager of Al-Jawad Tours in Aqaba, told The Media Line that he was excited by news of the planned route.

“We have many clients who fly to Eilat and then cross over the border,” he said. “This is very good news.”

“Meanwhile I have very good traffic of day tours from Aqaba for people that fly to Tel Aviv for a day trip in Jerusalem,” Abbabi said, pointing out that the flights should be coordinated to allow tourists to do one day trips in both directions.

In 2007 Israel’s parliament approved a plan by then-vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres to develop several large-scale cooperation projects between Israel and Jordan, including the so called Red Dead Canal, which aims to lead water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea through a pipeline.

The plan also includes the establishment of a joint Israeli-Jordanian international airport, to be constructed outside Aqaba, which would have a joint landing strip but two separate terminals.

Source: The Media Line.
Link: http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=28696.

Chinese President Hu Jintao declares open Shanghai World Expo

Chinese President Hu Jintao declared the opening of the World Expo 2010 in the Expo Culture Center in Shanghai Friday evening.

Hu's announcement was echoed by thunderous cheers from spectators in the seashell-shaped venue at the Expo park, which spreads across 5.28 square kilometers along both sides of the Huangpu River.

Among the spectators, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Republic of Korea President Lee Myung-bak were in attendance along with other world leaders, including Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

The Shanghai World Expo, carrying the theme of "Better City, Better Life", will lead new lifestyles, promote harmony between man and nature as well as the overall development of human beings, Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan said while addressing the opening ceremony.

International Exhibitions Bureau President Jean-Pierre Lafon said he hoped the Shanghai World Expo would contribute to a social awakening so that cities may become more sustainable, fairer, safer and more harmonious.

It was the first time for the 159-year-old World Expo to be held in a developing country since the inaugural fair in London in 1851.

China has been preparing for the event since Shanghai won its bid to host the World Expo 2010 eight years ago. It is another grand event for the country after the successful Beijing Olympics in 2008.

From the United States to Republic of Korea, a total of 189 countries would present their best at the six-month event, which is expected to attract 70 million visitors from China and abroad and likely to be the largest World Expo ever.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/6969676.html.

Algeria completes Algiers-Oran highway construction

The last section of Algeria's 428-km Algiers-Oran highway opened Thursday (April 29th). Oran can now be reached in less than four hours from Algiers, Algerian Public Works Minister Amar Ghoul said at the opening ceremony in Zahana. The project, part of Algeria's East-West Highway, was completed in record time, Ghoul said.

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/04/30/newsbrief-03.

Algeria intercepts 23 harragas

Algerian coast guards apprehended 23 Europe-bound harragas Thursday (April 29th) near Annaba, AFP reported. The detainees are from Annaba, El Tarf and Batna. At least 250 illegal immigrants were arrested in 2009 off the coast of Annaba.

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/04/30/newsbrief-02.

Young Algerians master the makeshift economy

Facing limited employment prospects, many young Algerians have chosen to rely on themselves.

By Mouna Sadek for Magharebia in Algiers – 30/04/10

In his fine cowboy hat and smoking a cigar, Mourad, 26, stands on the Algiers street like he owns it. He is not the shy, retiring type. "I haven’t studied, but I know I’m going to make it. What matters is knowing how to get around, how to seize an opportunity," he says.

Mourad, along with 5 of his friends, turned some small backstreets into ad hoc parking lots. They work in shifts, night and day.

"We’re lucky being in the center of Algiers, between Mohamed V and Telemely. They’re quite busy districts. There’s no charity here – if someone doesn’t have the money, then they can just go somewhere else," he says.

He calls the operation his "business".

Unemployment, the high cost of living and low levels of pay have demanded creative solutions from young people fighting to survive. They are refusing to give into despair, and proof of their inventiveness can be found in the explosion of untraditional, self-created jobs in Algeria.

Belcourt market has quickly become a temple to what is known as the "informal economy". Market regular Redouane is one young man whose need for cash led him to take creative measures.

But this is not a good night.

"It’s not right," he says. "I spent 2000 dinars on some packets of biscuits so I could re-sell them, and now the police have confiscated all my goods. They won’t let us do our jobs. It’s becoming a police state."

As the oldest of seven children, he feels he has a duty to support his family.

"What do you want me to do? Just sit back and do nothing? A few jobs here and there aren’t going to keep your head above water. As for marrying and starting a family... you don’t even think about that," he says.

His friend Rachid flits between Belcourt market and the Internet cafés.

"My days are really busy," Rachid says. "In the morning, I sell socks in the market, and in the afternoon, with the help of some friends, I download the latest films so I can sell them."

"In the end, you manage to make a bit of money," he says. To find a stable job in Algeria, he adds, “you need money behind you, and friends in the right places".

Even Algerians who already have steady salaries work in the informal economy. One job is not enough to make ends meet.

By day, Mr. Belkacem works in a state-run enterprise in the economic sector. At night, he runs a "black market taxi" service.

"I earn barely 20,000 DA a month at my firm, and they give us a pittance for supporting a wife at home. I had to find something else to pay the bills," he explains. “But even my taxi job doesn’t bring in much money. It ranges from 200 to 1000 dinars a night. There are some days when I come home empty-handed."

This clandestine work is due to a "major upset on the labor market", explains Abdenasser Djabi.

"Even the private and public sectors can end up playing a part in expanding 'unofficial activities'. With the low salaries they pay their workers, they’ll only increase the problem. The labor market has become diversified but precarious. The poor pay encourages that," Djabi adds.

The makeshift economy has also created a class of “nouveaux riche" in Algeria. But not every informal business is run by the books.

"Young people are very different from their parents. They find it hard to accept their parents’ failures and accuse them of not having grasped every opportunity," Djabi says. "They cannot understand that their parents have scruples."

Algeria's makeshift economy first emerged in the 1980's, when people started selling the latest products in the El Fellah market and other urban shopping districts, Mohamed Saib Musette of Algeria's Applied Economic Research Center for Development (CREAD) tells Magharebia.

Some idle urban youths, known locally as hittistes, turned into trabendistes and got involved in various shadowy business dealings in the 1990s, he says. Now that Europe has become a virtually impregnable fortress, the young unemployed are forced to take any job they can get, Musette says.

"This informal sector has some real 'factories', getting both girls and boys embroiled in a pernicious environment; which inevitably leads them to look for a way to escape, and follow the route taken by others excluded from society: the haraga," Musette explains.

The makeshift economy, he continues, was built by what he calls "an ongoing fear of drowning". Algerians go to extreme lengths, breaking rules, laws and social conventions to keep their heads above water.

These problems faced by Algerian youth could prove to be a real "time bomb", according to the National Association for Youth Protection (AASJ).

"The lack of dialogue could lead to a real uprising among young people," AASJ external affairs officer Amine Mouioua says. "That’s something that threatens the whole of Algeria. Anarchy and violence are spreading across all towns in Algeria, including the chic districts."

The AASJ hopes to organize a "national meeting for the unemployed" to find solutions to the problem, she says. Even though unemployment has dropped to 10.2%, women and young people still have difficulties making ends meet.

"When you’re thirty and you can’t afford to buy a coffee, you certainly feel marginalized," Mouioua says. "We’ve got to get rid of this culture of exclusion."

Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/reportage/2010/04/30/reportage-01.

Defense, Facebook One and the Same

By Bob Brewin
04/29/10

While the average Facebook employee probably does not meet Defense Department attire or haircut standards, Defense Deputy Secretary William J. Lynn III told a group of Facebookers at the company's headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif., on Wednesday that he viewed the two cultures as congruent.

In a sign that social media has been embraced by an at-first-reluctant Defense Department, Lynn told the employees, "You're very much a part of our world." He then added, "We're also very much a part of your world. We use social media just as other organizations do. It's a critical element for us."

Lynn is visiting Silicon Valley companies on his road trip, and he told Facebook workers that Defense needs a few good force-multiplier ideas from commercial pioneers.

Who would have thunk that a top Defense official would view Facebook and its technology as a force multiplier?

Source: Nextgov.
Link: http://whatsbrewin.nextgov.com/2010/04/defense_facebook_one_in_the_same.php.