Good morning, today the Russian rocket Soyuz will add more real estate to the International Space Station.
Called Prichal, the new spherical module with six docking ports will allow potential future expansion of the Russian segment of the station.
Back on earth in Guwahati, adding new real estate to make the city smarter seems way more difficult, while building the entire Noida International Airport will take over 25 years.
Asia's Largest Airport Will Be Big, Cool And Uber Cool
While laying the foundation stone for the Noida International Airport at Jewar, Uttar Pradesh, PM Modi said that this airport will become the logistics gateway for North India.
The facility will help decongest Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport and will serve the people of cities including Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Aligarh, Agra, Faridabad and neighbouring areas.
About Noida International Airport
The project was first proposed in 2001 by then Uttar Pradesh chief minister, Rajnath Singh as a greenfield Taj International and Aviation Hub at Jewar village near Greater Noida, adjacent to the Yamuna Expressway.
It is located at a distance of 72 km from Delhi's IGI airport.
💪 BIG
With six runways once fully completed, it will be Asia's biggest and among the world's largest airports. Only the Chicago–O'Hare and the Dallas/Fort Worth are larger. An eight runway approval is also in place, subject to land availability.
Being built in public private partnership (PPP) mode by Zurich Airport AG, which will simultaneously develop and operate the airport for 40 years.
Spread over 1,334 hectares of land with an annual capacity of around 1.2 crore passengers once the first phase is completed in 2024.
By 2040-50, once fully constructed, its annual capacity will be 7 crore passengers.
It is a greenfield airport that will be constructed in four phases. The project cost of the first phase is INR 8,916 crore.
The Uttar Pradesh government will end up spending INR 4,326 crore on the acquisition of land, rehabilitation and resettlement.
😎 COOL
It'll have a Ground Transportation Centre that will feature a multi-modal transit hub, with metro and high-speed rail stations, cab and bus services, as well as private parking.
The airport will debut a swing aircraft stand concept, providing flexibility for airlines to operate an aircraft for both domestic and international flights from the same contact stand, without having to re-position the aircraft.
Its dedicated cargo terminal will have an annual capacity of 2 million metric tonnes, which will be expanded to 8 million metric tonnes.
🍧 UBER COOL
Icing on the cake - it will be India's first net zero emissions airport. 🍀
Guwahati's Smart City Plans Back On Track
Guwahati's smart city journey began in the year 2016, when it was allotted one of the 20 slots that were opened to a nationwide competition for all cities to take part in.
However, over the last 5 years, very little moved on the smartening front, barring a few insignificant projects like drinking water vending machines, public bio-toilets and a gigantic flag post.
But The Times They're A Changin'
Since the new umm, old Chief Minister took reigns of Assam this year, its capital's smart city mission is getting back on track.
Recent announcements are heartening - a total of 17 projects have been fast tracked in Guwahati, including the riverfront project and the overhauling of its public transport system.
An amount of over INR 887 crore has been sanctioned for the same and is ready to be deployed swiftly.
Here are some details;
- Riverfront project - INR 308 crore
- Unleashing 200 Non AC, electric buses on Guwahati's streets - INR 236 crore
- An integrated traffic management system - INR 127 crore
- Buying big desilting machines - INR 30 crore
Needs More Than Just Money
Some projects among many, require more than just financing. Take the riverfront project for example. To pull that one off, important offices (Kamrup DC's, Guwahati Police Commissioner's and the Municipal Corporation Commissioner's) will have to be relocated. 😅
Good news is that new sites have been located and the shifting-facilitation process has begun.
Word On The Street
🎙 The City Surveillance Project, deploying 4,000 CCTV cams to keep an eye over the city was initiated in 2019 but didn't manage to take a single image by the time it was shelved.
🎙 Borosla beel and Deepor beel, two iconic water bodies and eco systems were to be developed but despite receiving a fund of INR 80 crore, were shelved.
🌆 However, with the new leader managing things from 2021, citizen sentiment is improving and they are hopeful that Guwahati will earn its smart city tag once again soon.
The Muffin's On The Wall
🎙 "I take care of my city by replacing symbols of hate with delicious things to eat," says the 39-year-old artist Pier Paolo Spinazze, whose professional name, Cibo, is the Italian word for food.
To be the smartest on the coffee table this weekend, head over to Reuters and check out the Italian street artist who battles racism by turning swastikas into cupcakes.
Image - Reuters/Chiara Negrello
Lead Us To A Circular Economy
Turns out, one sure shot way for the planet to become much more sustainable than what it is right now, is to strive and become a circular economy. Yes, economic activities that go round in circles.
What's That?
The circular economy is a model of production and consumption, based on sharing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products for as long as possible.
In short, a method to extend the life cycle of every possible product.
In the real world, it means reducing waste to a minimum. When a product reaches the end of its life, its materials are kept within the same system wherever possible.
These can be productively used again and again, thereby creating further value.
It's A Sea Change
In contrast to the traditional, linear economic model, which is based on a take-make-consume-throw away pattern, going circular relies on large quantities of cheap, easily accessible materials and energy.
The Sector Has A Fiduciary Duty
As the largest consumer of raw materials and thus naturally, the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, the construction industry has to take leadership to ensure that a large portion of the economy becomes circular.
Some initiatives can enable this;
- Using lesser material and greener materials while constructing
- Consuming only renewable energy (like wind and solar) to power construction processes
- Prolonging the life of an asset
- Using environmentally sustainable design and engineering
The Savings Are Big Though
A circular economy, which promotes the elimination of waste and safe use of natural resources, offers an alternative that could yield up to USD4.5 trillion in economic benefits by the time this decade ends.
However, achieving this transition will require a colossal amount of collaboration given that today, only 8.6% of the world is circular.
All hopes now rest on the promised ESG compliant financing that will be deployed with the sole aim of getting things to go in circles.
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Wishing you a relaxed weekend ahead.
See you again on Monday morning. 💚
☕ The Crew@Ginger Chai