Cyberpark Technology Hubs

POOR INTERNET CONNECTIVITY IN THE PHILIPPINES

2016-02-17T15:24:00.000-08:00

A REVIEW OF EXISTING LITERATURE

A technical paper that embarks upon the actual objectives of the State for the benefit of stakeholders and users of Internet Services in the Philippines will shed light on the existing and future aspects of the service.

Such a paper shall make apparent all the reasons and basis for explaining the current state of Internet in the Philippines.

As the situation stands, Internet service in the country today is miserably slow and yet it counts as being among the most expensive all over the world. Why did such a situation come into being? How were investments and revenues of the licensed providers used to allow this to happen? What factors helped cause the snail paced speed of Internet in spite of exorbitant earnings amassed by providers from helpless subscribers? In the face of such wretched conditions is the Philippine Government simply going to stay immobile and inutile and not lift a hand to correct the problem?

A huge volume of literature abound on the problem of very slow Internet in the Philippines and the attendant malady of extremely high prices for Internet subscription. Most of the existing material about the causes of poor Internet Connectivity relate to technical concerns. Some of the current literature are ZTE [2014]; Huawei [2015]; Alcatel-Lucent [2015]; Ericsson [2015]; Nokia Solutions and Networks [2013]; Anritsu [2015]; Motorola [2008], among many others.

These technical literature taken against the backdrop of Philippine providers of mobility and Internet service give the best rationale and causalities that show how and why Internet connectivity in the country is deplorably sluggish and will never improve in the many years to come.

Some literature however, written poorly and pretend to provide non evidence-based arguments about why Internet is so slow in the Philippines portray the wrong side of the picture and mislead the intelligentsia as well as the public in general.

Such entities ranging from institutions such as Ookla [2015], Akamai [2015], to TelecomAsia [2015-16], the international agencies in and outside of Manila [2016], among too many others, should be guilty of purveying literary material that do not help the concerned audiences understand why Internet is too decrepit and execrable – and especially why only in the Philippines.

These institutions have been putting out as many waste material into the ecosystem that blur the public’s understanding and cloud the entire issue about why Internet is never improving in the Philippines when all the means and methodologies are there to cure the problem.

On one hand, the great number of publications that show how lethargic and almost on the verge of dying the speed of Internet in the country is, are the very same literature that provide the correct solutions to increasing the speed of the Internet based on the results of scientific research, perfected models and technologies, reliable evidence and experience.

On the other hand, voluminous literature pertaining to governing rules, regulations, standards and international covenants, agreements, resolutions that need to be followed to arrest the acute malady are not propagated in the public milieu. These literature, being steeped in legalese are treated with disfavor by selected quarters that benefit from the current situation and prohibit the same from being disseminated. Productivity Commission International Telecommunications Union [2002]; US Federal Government Council of Economic Advisers [2015]; Republic of the Philippines Congress [2014]; Commonwealth Broadcasting Association [2008]; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime [2013]; European Commission [2012]; World Bank [2009]; International Telecommunications Union, World Radiocommunications Conference 2015 (WRC15) [2015]; Asia Pacific Telecommunity [2012]; to name but a few.

Even Philippine Media is just as culpable for swallowing the conventional wisdom about the causes of poor Internet connectivity in the country hook, line and sinker. As sure as the sun rises each morning, some members of the Media are clearly guilty for taking rewards and incentives to keep the public ignorant about what causes slow Internet in the country and why domestic and international laws, rules and regulations, covenants, standards and best practices are not being followed in the Philippines.

It must be stressed here, that such non-compliance of rules, covenants, agreements and resolutions, forms nearly ninety percent (90%) of the raison d’ etre as to why Internet is too slow in the Philippines. And yet, none of the current make-believe literature falsely claiming to be intelligent studies about the slow and costly Internet services in the country actually pay respect to the fact that the Philippines is not compliant with the existing rules, regulations, standards, covenants, resolutions on Radiocommunications as promulgated at the level of bodies such as the Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT), International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and many other similar telecom governing bodies.

This is where the problem really lies and this technical paper proceeds to report on the exceedingly dire consequences of the Philippines defiance of laws, regulations, international covenants, resolutions, agreements pertaining to proper behavior in the telecom sector.

From out of this severe, highly insubordinate posture of the Philippines, arises a myriad of problems that are the very cause of:

poor Internet connectivity
dropped calls in the middle of conversations over mobile telephone
frequent inability to call by mobile phone
delayed SMS messages (texts)
recurring problem of signal interruption in television broadcasts; and,
many other mobility and Internet problems

Because of the public’s inherent and sacred right to information, this technical paper was written precisely to spread awareness of what goes on behind the perceived Philippine telecom industry that at present is distortedly depicted to the public.

The authors anticipate a better understanding of why Internet service in the Philippines is excruciatingly slow and yet only those that can afford, are able to pay the high cost of having decent Internet connections in their homes or places of business.

In the face of the inevitable coming of the phenomenon of "Internet of Things (IoT)" all those that are concerned should act now and not sit on the fence only to regret our undoings later.

For any questions, comments or suggestions pertaining to this article, please email us at: onecybergroup@gmail.com or asiacommunications@msn.com.

Or call or send SMS at 09954398612; 09999779997.

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STUDY ON WHY INTERNET IS SLOW IN THE PHILIPPINES

2016-02-15T16:02:00.000-08:00

Watch out for the book version of why the internet is slow in the Philippines. We will announce the publication of the technical report and its availability for everyone.

Merry Christmas all, be patient with your slow internet now. Fast internet speed is coming very, very soon to your computers, devices and mobile phones!!!

For any questions, comments or suggestions pertaining to this article, please email us at: onecybergroup@gmail.com or asiacommunications@msn.com.

Or call or send SMS at 09954398612; 09999779997.

View original post

Slow Internet in the Philippines

2016-02-14T14:57:00.000-08:00

Little do the current crop of Philippine stakeholders know that any scarce resource in the telecommunications industry, to include every single one of the specific bandwidths of the various Spectrum of our Radio Frequencies, are only allocated by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

Some quarters believe that owning the entire breadth of one whole Spectrum, whether one is able or unable to pay the Spectrum Usage Fee (SUF) to the government, is legal and just okay.

It is not legal and it is not okay. It is immoral and an abomination. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the Asian Pacific Telecommunity (APT) will not stand for this. This has got to change.

The ITU recently held its 2015 Conference in Geneva, Switzerland and declared as follows:

“WRC‐15 will provide more bandwidth for mobile– broadband

“Governments worldwide are making available more– spectrum – in line with national broadband planning and desired long term investment in ICT.

“More countries commit towards the uptake of Digital–Dividend band plans and other globally harmonized bands (1800 MHz, 2600 MHz)”

In the next few months, Internet in the Philippines will radically change and not because of above named anomalous practice, but honest-to-goodness adoption of new technology and new business models.

For any questions, comments or suggestions pertaining to this article, please email us at: onecybergroup@gmail.com or asiacommunications@msn.com.

Or call or send SMS at 09954398612; 09999779997.

Originally posted November 19, 2015. View original post.

Your Lookout in Contracts

2015-07-01T15:04:00.000-07:00

For securing confidentiality and the sharing of profit in your transactions, demand the execution of the following:

NON-CIRCUMVENTION, NON-DISCOSURE, NON-COMPETITION AGREEMENT (NCNDA)

FEE PROTECTION AGREEMENT

BANK PAY ORDER

The formats shown above are standard to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and can be enforced anywhere internationally.

Do not enter into any transaction without the NCNDA, Fee Protection Agreement, Bank Pay Order. If the other party refuses to sign, be sure to explain in detail the importance of the above guarantees. If they still insist on not signing, do not proceed with the transaction. The other party are definitely not legitimate, not genuinely interested in respecting the terms and conditions.

From Hyper Terminal to Aerotropolis Airport

2014-09-23T03:03:00.000-07:00

About ten years ago around 2004, Jakarta completed its Plan for the upgrade of Soekarno Hatta International Airport Hyper Terminal - the full construction of which took until 2009 to finish.

The resulting architecture design consisted of the air transport terminal facilities and alongside these was a built in full dress commercial mall - business district with a profusion of greens inside the complex itself - refreshing gardens within the airport that became the inspiration for so many designs today. Most of the ideas that will live on forever with the structures in Soekarno Hatta International Airport Hyper Terminal are borne of the exemplary competence and ingenuity of Paul Andreu.

Mr. Paul Andreu and his unique designs including the New Administrative Center of the City of Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China (upper middle), the National Grand Theater - Beijing, China and the Osaka Maritime Museum (upper right).

Some features of Soekarno Hatta International Airport seen from photos published on the web are shown below:

The idea may not have been completely new during the time of its inception between 2000-2004, however Jakarta did bring the concept several notches higher. The elegant blending of the huge mall with the large sized airport, did give justice to the sobriquet of Hyper Terminal.

Today, the Seokarno Hatta International Airport Hyper Terminal design is being emulated globally and aptly so, since it contains unique characteristics and features that make it easier for airport services to be delivered especially with quick presents, fast linkaging with the outside world within the confines of the airport itself, among many other pleasant premiums for the traveling customer - notwithstanding the gentle and warm hospitality of Indonesians and their winsome smiles.

With the recent expansion of the Soekarno Hatta International Hyper Terminal, it again elevated its status to Aerotroplis Airport that envisages to accommodate more than 60,000,000 (60 Million) passengers inside one year.

This concept will be brought to the Philippines, barring any impediments and in particular, to the Region of Eastern Visayas that fairly recently, in November 2013, suffered from the onslaught of Super Typhoon Haiyan or locally known by the Philippine code name Yolanda.

Highlights of the description of Indonesia's Hyper Terminal, soon to be Aerotropolis Airport is shown below:

Soekarno–Hatta Airport began operations in 1985, replacing the former Kemayoran Airport (for domestic flights) in Central Jakarta, and Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport in East Jakarta.[5] Kemayoran Airport has since been made into public areas. Halim Perdanakusuma is still operating, serving hajj flight, VVIP, charters and military flights and since January 2014 is reactivated for domestic schedule commercial flights to ease Cengkareng Airport. Terminal 2 opened in 1991 and Terminal 3 opened in 2009. In 2010, total passengers reached 43.7 million, surpassing the 38-million-passenger capacity of all 3 terminals.[6] In 2012, the airport was the 9th busiest airport in the world with 57.8 million passengers, a 12.1% increase over 2011.[2] And in May 2014, becomes the 8th busiest airport in the world with 62.1 million passengers.[7] It is also the busiest airport in the Southern Hemisphere.

Although the airport is running over capacity, on May 4, 2012, after verification from April 23 to May 3, the Airport Council International (ACI) stated that Soekarno–Hatta International Airport is clearly being operated safely.[8] To overcome the overcapacity, on August 2, 2012, ground was broken at terminal 3 to make it into an Aerotropolis airport which can serve 62 million passengers per year. This is predicted to be complete by the end of 2014.[9] A third, 3,660-by-60-metre (12,010 ft × 200 ft), runway is planned to be built in 2015, costing 4 trillion rupiah.[10]

Between 1974 and 1975, a Canadian consultant/consortium, consisting of Aviation Planning Services Ltd., ACRESS International Ltd., and Searle Wilbee Rowland (SWR), won a bid for the new airport feasibility project. The feasibility study started on 20 February 1974, with a total cost of 1 million Canadian dollars. The one-year project proceeded with an Indonesian partner represented by PT Konavi. By the end of March 1975, the study revealed a plan to build three inline runways, three international terminal buildings, three domestic buildings and one building for Hajj flights. Three stores for the domestic terminals would be built between 1975 and 1981 at a cost of US$ 465 million and one domestic terminal including an apron from 1982–1985 at a cost of US$126 million. A new terminal project, named the Jakarta International Airport Cengkareng, began.[11]

Design

Tropical garden fill the spaces between Javanese-styled pendopo waiting and boarding pavilions. The airport's terminal 1 and 2 was designed by Paul Andreu, a French architect who also designed Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport. One of the characteristics of the airport is the incorporation of the local architecture into the design, and the presence of tropical gardens between the waiting lounges. These unique characteristics earned the airport the 1995 Aga Khan Award for Architecture.[12] The runways run northeast-southwest. There are two parallel runways, on the north and south side. The airport terminal took the plan of spanning fan, with the main entrances of terminals connected to a series of waiting and boarding pavilions via corridors. These waiting and boarding pavilions are connected to the airplanes through boarding bridges. Terminal 1 is in the southern side of the airport, while Terminal 2 and 3 are on the north side.

The airport concept is described as "garden within the airport" or "airport in the garden", as tropical decorative and flower plants fill the spaces between corridors, waiting and boarding pavilions. The boarding pavilions demonstrate local Indonesian vernacular architecture, particularly the roof, in the Javanese stepped-roof pendopo/joglo style. The interior design displays the diversity of Indonesian art and culture, with ethnic decorative elements taken from wooden carvings of Java, Bali, Sumatra, Dayak, Toraja to Papua. Another example is the railings of stairs, doors and gates, which show the kala-makara (giant head and mythical fish-elephant creature) theme typical in ancient Indonesian temples such as Borobudur. Terminal 3, however, has a different architectural style—unlike the ethnic-inspired Indonesian vernacular architecture of terminal 1 and 2, terminal 3 uses the contemporary modern style of large glass windows with metal frames and columns.

Source: Soekarno Hatta International Airport. Wikipedia. Updated September 12, 2014.

We certainly consider it most welcome to engage in undertaking in the expansion of the target Eastern Visayas Airport with the design of Indonesia's Hyper Terminal and possibly in the future, adopting Indonesia's Aerotropolis Airport concept as well.

A Summary of the Hyper Terminal Project

2014-09-22T07:32:00.003-07:00

Summary of the Project

By Greengold CyberparkHoldings Corporation

1. Title of Project – Hyper Terminal Eastern Visayas

2. Undertaking of Feasibility Study – Master Development Plan Preparation and Construction

3. Project Proponent – Department of Transportation and Communications

4. PM/Consultancy CONSORTIUM LED BY THE GCHC
5. Categorization

a. Airport Development mixed Brown, Greenfield Construction, Terminal combined with Commercial Complex

b. Green Construction

6. Resources

a. External Sourcing for air nav technology, air traffic services, air traffic control, all equipage requirements as needed in Grant-in-Aid and Soft Loan

b. Philippine Government Initial Allocation of Philippine Pesos Five Hundred Million (PHP500,000,000.00)

e. Work Schedule

f. Purpose

The Study Component consists of the following three components:

a. Pre-Feasibility Study

b. Master Plan

c. Architectural, Structural Engineering, Design

d. Bill of Quantities

7. Key Responsible Agency

a. Subnational Government Agency, Local Government

b. Philippine National Government Agencies and Department of Transportation and Communications, Project Development Financing and Civil Works Component

c. Multi-Institutional / National Consortium led by GCHCORP - Consultant and Project Management to prepare Airport Hyper Terminal Plan

d. General Building Contractor (or Institution) Responsible for the Total Implementation of the Project

e. Civil Works Sub Contractor (or Institution) Responsible for the Project Activities on the ground

SCOPE OF WORK

a. Objective:

b. Location of Project: Eastern Visayas

c. Scope of Study

7.3-1 Basic Study

IMPLEMENTATION OF WORK

Stage 1. Pre-Feasibility Study of Terminal development Development

Stage 2. Project Master Plan Study of Terminal development

Stage 3. Technical and Financial Feasibility of Terminal development (Engineering and Financial)

Carrying out Pre-F/S level study and confirm the Master Plan objectives through final Technical and Financial Feasibility Full Report containing detailed engineering and financial final estimates and conclusions and incorporating the following aspects:

Additional Study of the following, if necessary

Other significant aspects of project that affect ecology

Especially Prepared and Submitted:

For

The Philippine Government

Eastern Visayas Airport Expansion

2014-09-22T07:28:00.001-07:00

WHY THE PHILIPPINES NEEDS AN EXPANDED AIR SERVICES TERMINAL FOR EASTERN VISAYAS

by Greengold CyberparkHoldings Corporation

Background

Aviation, aeronautics is a United States Dollars Three Trillion (US$3,000,000,000,000) per annum industry[1], to which the Philippine aviation sector contributes only less than a fraction of one percent (1%) – and equivalent to 0.051% only the country – Republic of the Philippines’ Gross Domestic Product.

The entire Asian Region commands a thirty two percent (32%) share of these US$5 Trillion revenues. The question is whether, the Philippines, from hereon until 2030, can dramatically change its standing in the ratings of travel destinations and number of transiting passengers, as well as in revenues per mile of air traffic.

Obviously, something needs to be done and there is a real need to seriously attend to the concerns and problems inherent to as well as presently besetting air transport in the country.

The expertise and the infrastructure are already there and the needed links that can be brought into the equation are waiting to be made, cemented and made profit of. These just need to be started and made wholly productive and profitable to the Philippines.

Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) was privatized due in part to the master development plan to develop a privatized Air Traffic Services system in the Philippines and that included throwing the entire weight of the old Air Transportation Office (ATO) – representing the regulatory authority in civil aviation in the country – into the picture.

For that reason alone, CAAP became a privatized entity. However the objectives and goals forecast in such an event still need to be realized:

Full Modernization of Civil Aviation monitoring systems equipment
Place Philippine Civil Aviation systems at least at par with those of China, Malaysia that in 1990s have only recently begun their own modernization
Extensively increase muscle through revenue generated from modernized system
Increase safety in Philippine Civil Aviation
Engage in campaigns in cooperation with other state civil aviation authorities for air transport safety, increased travel demand to the Philippines through forming of alliances between Philippine air sector and foreign aviation groups – among many others[2]

Pros and Cons of Eastern Visayas Airport Expansion

After November 2013 many sectors strongly revived the argument that the country needed to seriously consider expanding its airport capacity in the south east that was directly hit by a devastating catastrophe and may be subjected once more to similar tragedy in the future.

Figure 1. Map of Existing Eastern Visayas Airport Terminals

The easiest and quickest method to increase airport expansion would be to expand Eastern Visayas and Calbayog in Western Samar or Borongan in Northern Samar. In Eastern Visayas, to include more than one additional runways and expansion areas for more terminals.

However, only during the time of Pres. Estrada was there nearly four billion worth of infrastructure development poured unconditionally into only Eastern Samar to the exclusion of Western and Northern Samar Provinces.

Out of these funds, none were considerably devoted for improving civil aviation facilities in Eastern Samar and very meager resources were allocated for enhancing civil aviation facilities in the entire Eastern Visayas Region.

That may have all been well since any significant changes, renovations may have gone down the drain due to Yolanda and other powerful disasters that hit Eastern Visayas, particularly Tacloban.

If there are any opponents to the concept of expansion for the argue that expanding the Eastern Visayas Terminal would be unnecessary since it would significantly increase noise and air pollution, reducing the quality of life for many thousands, this will be qualified by the myriad of benefits that will accrue to the entire region and in general, to the country.

Expansion of Services Eastern Visayas Air Terminal

Favorable Arguments

Without increasing airport capacity, the Philippines is bound to lose out on its standing in world competitiveness, improved public sector revenues and tourism – both domestic and international.

The lack of airport capacity all over the archipelago, the absence of facilities for visiting guests, was a painful constriction in the country since the 1970s for increasing and invigorating business exchanges, tourism being only one of these challenged entrepreneurial activities. Yet in the 1990s, the government decided on closing down, downgrading airports in the country.

For the Eastern Visayas Air Terminal is the quickest option to contribute to making the Philippines a world class tourism hub. Not undertaking this kind of action will set back both economic and relevant goals foreseen by our economic planners by up to thirty years or longer.

One of the lesser known positive arguments for this project is that Leyte, for a very long time, has always been considered as the number three biggest voters’ source in the entire country. For some time in the distant past, Leyte was the biggest vote source in Philippine elections until it slid down to second and then third.

At this time, Leyte and Samar's combined share a place in the top seven to eight largest populated provinces and regions in the country. However, the record increase in the populations of Calabarzon (most populated region, 2014 demographics data), the National Capital Region (second most populated region), Central Luzon (third most populated region) and even other Visayas Regions, is indubitably connected to internal migration from Eastern Visayas to these areas.

Air Transport Factor for Jumpstarting Growth

The decrease in Eastern Visayas demographic can be attributed to the severe lack of development in the area.

More than 500,000 hectares of public domain is sitting idly in Eastern Visayas; thousands of hectares untouched can be attributed to ancestral domain while hundreds to thousands of hectares of undeveloped land in the entire Eastern Visayas Region is waiting to be tilled for productive agriculture, aquaculture, service sector establishments and other business, converted into habitats for the victims of Yolanda and other calamities, commercial and industrial zones, among many other economic activities.

This cannot be done unless serious development funding will be poured into the Region and this has to start with transport infrastructure.

Figure 2. Map of Eastern Visayas

Logistics and most especially transport infrastructures is basic to this and following or alongside this, social development measures, economic solutions to address deeply entrenched problems will have to be attended to with dispatch.

Cost Effectiveness.

Due to the enormous development in Eastern Samar, as well as the building of main national highways surrounding it, the Airport Terminal already has excellent transport links on all four corners.

An added runway would be the cheapest way to create additional capacity. It will take fairly minimal priority activities and less resources to complete the road network that will provide full access to the Eastern Visayas terminal facility.

Existing Infrastructure.

One of the targeted existing airport terminals already has a well developed transport infrastructure with only one runway, which increases the efficiency of adding an extra runway at the projected expanded Eastern Visayas Air Terminal.

Runway II and Runway III in the future could be added, and Runway I may still be extended.

Employment.

The Expanded Eastern Visayas Airport Terminal can become a big employer in the area that will support no less than 250,000 – 350,000 jobs. Placing the airport at another hub airport would lead to job losses in the Airport Terminal area.

In 2001 to the present, only very few travelers passed through Airport Terminal, representing almost a meager percentage of all visitors from domestic and overseas.

Predicted air travel growth.

From the 1990s, the Department of Tourism and Department of Transportation and Communications produced air passenger forecasts for the Philippines that were positive. These forecasts predicted a significant increase of millions of passengers per annum (mppa) in the 1990s to over 80 mppa by 2020 or even higher. In this new decade, 2000s air transport forecasts traffic growing between 7 to 20 mppa or much, much higher by 2030.

The majority of these new passengers are projected to pass through airports in South East Asia.

Increase tourist arrivals.

Should this project be realized, this expanded Airport will help increase tourism, create a more vigorous and dynamic atmosphere for trade and commerce.

As a result, this project will propel the economy of Eastern Visayas to heights and remove its label as one of the most economically depressed regions of the country. It also redounds to improved revenues for the public sector and provides sets of rationale for investors to engage their resources in Eastern Visayas.

Improve disaster rescue and relief.

Another very positive impact of this project is that it will improve response capability each time our people in Eastern Visayas and nearby regions are confronted by natural and human-made catastrophes.

As we are all aware, during the recent tragedy caused by super typhoon Yolanda, the problem of logistics was the most crucial challenge faced by emergency responders on the part of public sector, the private sector relief volunteers as well as our brothers and sisters from foreign countries.

The difficulty faced by all was that only Cebu City had air transport infrastructure that could accommodate foreign aircraft bearing much-needed relief goods.

To assuage this situation, it is determined that the government make functional one decently sized civil aviation facility at the crossroads of Eastern Visayas, particularly in Catbalogan City of Samar Island that on the north serves as the gateway to Luzon, and in the south to Leyte, Central Visayas and Mindanao.

Enhance Social networking.

Finally, and not the least of all, beyond auguring in the growth of business, this project will impact greatly upon linking-up of more people – resulting in greater momentum for social networking and cementing of significant relationships.

In sum, this project is laudable for it will add value to the region and the country’s public sector priority activities and private commercial and industrial enterprise’ increased profit from increased dealings as well as cultural development and enhancing social infrastructures.

Arguments Against Eastern Visayas

Airport Terminal Expansion

733,377 people are living under the flight path. This population density means it is not the ideal location for an airport. It makes sense to increase capacity in an area with lower population density

Figure 3. Population of Eastern Visayas

Noise and air pollution would increase through expansion. Pollution levels near Eastern Visayas Air Terminal are already high. Increasing capacity would add to the problems of air and noise pollution.

External Costs:

Eastern Visayas Air Terminal would become the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the region.

Environmentalists will argue that the expanded air terminal capacity would lead to increased CO2 emissions. Rather than expanding short haul flights, the government should keep the aviation costs very high to reflect the social cost of flying.

The business case for expanding Eastern Visayas Air Terminal is exaggerated. Only a small percentage of air travel from and to the area is directly business related and contributory to nation building.

Even with two runways, Eastern Visayas Air Terminal cannot manage to capture the highest numbers of flights. Eastern Visayas Air Terminal has very few departure flights for every period and it is not one of the country’s key business centers – compared with Cebu, Ormoc City, Legazpi City and many other nearby competing cities.

Alternatives to Air Transport.

Key leaders and politicians from other provinces and regions have supported claims and completely alternate schemes for making their locales the major dedicated hub airports outside of Metro Manila. The argument is for dedicating more resources for these areas and in the process leave out Eastern Visayas even given the fact that it is reeling from severe pain from the recent November 2013 tragedy.

Furthermore, with the growth of electronic communications, mobile technology and tele conferencing by internet and cell phones, it is possible that business will succumb to the limiting of the increase of business travel and utilize cheaper means of interactions rather than expensive travel.

There could also be a major push from various sector to encourage land based transport and using the RORO network, as well as in combination with rail transport - train travel -to replace short flights. This will radically reduce Eastern Visayas’ ideal of becoming a domestic destination as well as target tourist traffic from foreign countries.

Summation. Assessment.

If building the Eastern Visayas City Airport Terminal will be done from purely nothing, no one would suggest building that terminal – particularly in over a populated area and like Tacloban City surrounded by water – making it vulnerable to disaster similar to the storm surge brought about by Yolanda.

The cost of noise and air pollution to local residents is negligible because the location is far from the heart of the populated districts.

It is the concern here that if expanding Eastern Visayas Air Terminal will not be done, the country will have a major infrastructure bottleneck and the incident over not being able to accommodate arrivals from overseas during the post-Yolanda period, could damage the country’s delivery of services during crisis as well as bring down the efforts toward priming the regions for future thrusts toward development.

Without a major hub in Eastern Visayas and maintaining the position of downgrading instead of uplifting airports, the Region will suffer and the country will ultimately lose its competitive advantage.

The increase in airport capacity can contribute to increased pollution and create new or more environmental hazards.

However, weighing the interests of suffering people of Eastern Visayas, the environment and business the best choice is for pursuing the Eastern Visayas Terminal project even if it is not necessary an simple choice to make, with contradictory arguments from the two sides of the issue. Delaying the decision will increase the disadvantages and suitable investments that could be expected to arise from this project will no longer be available after some time.

A form of transport that gives a considerable share to the very costly global warming could be minimized by undertaking as many measures and counter measures as are available to reduce or minimize dangerous emissions that harm our ecology in the country and the planet.

Projections on Design Perspectives.

On or about 2004, the Soekarno Hatta Airport Hyper Terminal design was released. It was the first time that an airport terminal was to be built with an internal commercial shopping complex inside the airport itself. It was also determined to make the design in concord with green construction.

This design appears to be the most favorable type of design for the Eastern Visayas expanded airport terminal.

Figure 4. The Soekarno Hatta Airport HyperTerminal (2004) Design

With a very highly improved, modernized version of the Jakarta, Indonesia Design, a large component of investments may be sourced from sources outside of the Philippine Government, notwithstanding the investment for the equipage and operations-maintenance of the airport itself.

Notes:

http://www.icao.int/sustainability/Documents/Yearly-Monitor.pdf
Master Plan for ATS, ATO 1995-2015. Rodal Management and Harris Corporation Florida USA. August 25, 1995.

References:

Pre-Feasibility Study And Masterplanning For The New Legaspi Airport. Phil-JAC. 2003.
Yearly Monitor, International Civil Aeronautics Organisation. July 2014.
HKIA Master Plan 2030 Technical Report. Hongkong civil aviation authority. June 1, 2011 English edition.
Forecast Scheduled Passenger Traffic from ICAO website:
http://www.icao.int/sustainability/Pages/eap-fp-forecast-scheduled-passenger-traffic.
World Population Review. From website: http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/the-philippines-population/

Categories and Themes:

#Aeronautics
#AirTransportation
#BoostingPhilippineTourism
#Business
#CivilAviation
#Commerce
#DepartmentofTransportationandCommunications
#DisasterResponse
#Ecology
#EconomicDevelopment
#GreenTechnology
#GreenConstruction
#ImprovingExistingAirport
#Logistics
#Philippines
#SocialNetworking
#Safety
#Trade
#Yolanda
#YolandaHelp
#YolandaPH

First phase: Fleurdelis Green Heights Butuan

2013-09-19T17:48:00.000-07:00

Perspectives for first phases of Fleurdelis Green Heights. A referral node of Manila Bay Hospital City will be built within Fleurdelis Green Heights, that is scheduled to be built this year in Butuan City, Agusan del Norte.

The main facility of the Manila Bay Hospital City, is located within Liberty Hills Residences and Recreation Resorts in Batangas. It is modeled after highly successful hospital complexes in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

Much of the initial design shown here will form part of and be the typical design at the Liberty Hills retirement complex in Batangas Province, a few kilometers south of the City of Manila, Philippines.

Liberty Hills

2013-08-23T03:02:00.001-07:00

In 2012, the Department of National Defense requested a concept of a retirement and recreation village its property in Palico, Barangay Bilaran, Municipality of Nasugbu, Batangas Province.

Cyberpark developed a project profile and pre-feasibility study, complete staff work (CSW) for the subject property.

After a considerable length of time of gestation on the concept and a firm offer to build the retirement village, Cyberpark determined to look for an alternate site in the same town of Nasugbu. An initial buildable area of 414.304 hectares (1023.76748 acres) was found. The initial area has an adjacent lot of 600 hectares (1482.63 acres) and an expansion area of 9,000 hectares (22,238.48 acres). Apart from the site in Nasugbu, a parcel of real estate formerly offered to Cyberpark with a size of 400 hectares (988.422 acres) awaits to be developed in adjacent town, Maragondon, Cavite, Province and negotiations are under way to acquire an 82.3 hectare (203.3677 acres) lot in the seafront side of San Juan, Batangas Province that is famous for its beaches at Laiya, San Juan. The retirement facility will be equipped with a tariff-free zone for Hospital locators and the other real estates will be developed in the same model design to form a small medical care referral system.

Photo of the site in Nasugbu, Batangas, a complex of hills and flat land

Below are photos of the prospective Phase II site at San Juan, Batangas located at the sea front side.

The San Juan site is also a mix of hilly portions and flat plains

The development concept is for an EPZA type facility that will house hospital locators from all over the world. The entire facility will offer special patient and medical care as well as convalescence centers. It will also be an eco-tourism facility and is designed to attract retirees and prospective health care customers from around the globe.

Project Site of Fleurdelis II

2013-07-08T18:21:00.000-07:00

The site of Fleurdelis II will be the site for the launching of the Fleurdelis Green Heights project. Works will also begin earlier in II than in I.

Shown above is the vicinity map of the Sanchez property owned by the B.P. Sanchez Development Corporation of Butuan City.

Property titles of the estate are shown here: http://www.fleurdelisheights.com/2013/07/lot-documents-sanchez-estate.html

Update; Amended RFP

2013-06-01T05:25:00.000-07:00

Update

1. The alternate site for the Philippines' Department of National Defense property in Nasugbu, Batangas has been replaced with a property also located in Nasugbu. The replacement site has an initial usable area of 400 hectares, with a contiguous expansion area of 600 hectares.
2. The site for the Fleurdelis project has been expanded from 14 hectares to a total of 52.9 hectares.
3. The development of the Baler, Aurora site will have no changes with the exception that original plans will be modified to suit the concept of not cutting down trees but building beneath their canopies.
4. A new project site with a completed project study has been added, however announcements are not yet in order due to incomplete negotiations for the acquisition of the project en toto.

Due to the above developments the schedule for construction has been affected. The RFP from service providers has been amended.

Please click here to view the amended RFP.

New edition of Cyberpark Group project study

2013-02-27T20:47:00.000-08:00

We updated the study for the Mindanao project, shown here:

New edition Feasibility Study and Cost Benefit Analysis

Opening Fleurdelis Green Heights Village

2013-02-17T19:51:00.001-08:00

The project Fleurdelis Green Heights Village will be launched and opened to the public soon.

Please watch out for announcements in this website.

Davao: Development imperatives

2013-01-20T17:11:00.003-08:00

Like the determination of the people of Fukushima and Sendai, Japan to transfer habitat centers from low-lying areas to higher ground, this should be the resolve of government in Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Iligan City and other areas severely hit by flash flood: immediate and comprehensive relocation. We don't care at all if the United Nations is promoting resilient communities. God bless all those hardworking people at the U.N. but to hell with that campaign of building resilient communities. We are amazed at what that very good Korean Secretary General is actually doing at his office in the U.N.

If an advanced society such as Japan could not ward off the onrushing killer floods that took away thousands and thousands of lives, environmental hazards such as these in Mindanao should be avoided, not confronted. Japan's determination towards relocation, despite their lament of limited government funding available at the time immediately after the killer quake tsunami hit Sendai and Fukushima the worst, is very laudable. This includes the adept show of concern by the private sector -- particularly the financial section.

Thus the planning for the building of new habitats in the high grounds of Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Iligan, even areas like Butuan City that is too flood prone and lies within a huge earthquake fault that not providentially, passes through the middle of Butuan's lake that huddles close to the coastline. To compound matters, Philippine Institute of Volcanology admits that it has only been recently finding new fault lines in the area surrounding Davao, Cagayan and Butuan and is pleading with the local government units to fund studies for ascertaining the exact coordinates of the large new earthquake fault in Bukidnon province - just a stone's throw away from Davao.

On page 6 and 7 of the Fleurdelis Green Heights Village host community study, we quote the Phivolcs statement that:

Among these faults, the Philippine Fault is a neotectonic feature crosscutting the Agusan-Davao Basin which seals tectonic events not younger than Eocene. In addition, the Central Cordillera shows strong similarities with the Pacific Cordillera for both stratigraphy and tectonic evolution, and several indications favor a Eurasian margin affinity for the Daguma Range (Southern and Eastern Kudarat Plateau that may be part of the Sangihe arc, as inferred for the Zamboanga Peninsula and the Northern Arm of Sulawesi.

Thus the island of Mindanao can be divided into two composite terranes, the western one (northward extension of the Sangihe arc) being restricted to the Kudarat Plateau and the Zamboanga Peninsula. The apparent continuation of the Sangihe arc into the Central Cordillera of Mindanao is thus the result of post collision tectonics. The portion of the suture where the collision is completed curves westward north of the southern peninsula and extends beneath the sediments of the Cotabato Basin or the volcanic plateaus of the Lanao-Misamis-Bukidnon Highlands.

In the northern part, the contact is linear and suggests, together with the absence of compressional deformation, a docking of the eastern oceanic terrane (Philippine Mobile Belt-Halmahera arc) against the western continental terrane (Zamboanga-Daguma) in a strike-slip environment. Prior to Early Pliocene, the eastern and the western terranes were subject to different tectonic regimes with direction of extension perpendicular to the present one. From Late Pliocene to present, both terranes are affected by NNE and E-W compression. Click this link to see the Agusan fault line map.

Central Mindanao's Davao and Butuan's fate when it comes to earthquake related disaster are intertwined with that of the Eastern Mindanao (Cotabato, Kudarat, Maguindanao etc.) region and the Western Mindanao (Zamboanga, Sulu, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi).

The priority as of this time seems to be general vicinity encompassing Davao, Butuan and the Cagayan de Oro areas.

If studied carefully, the areas hit by the Davao flash floods appear to be a basin trapped in the middle of very high ground rising to over 1,000 feet above sea level. No wonder why too many residents helplessly died during the calamity. If Butuan forms part of this basin, as Phivolcs states above, more casualties will be expected in the near future where during the last eighty years there were almost nil. On the other hand, the tragedy that hit Cagayan de Oro that claimed close to 5000 lives, was caused by building a housing project in an island in the middle of a river, at the mouth of the sea.

Both private sector and government should start moving in the same direction, in the same model patterned after the post-disaster cooperation in Dagupan City and nearly the whole of Pangasinan Province in 1990 and 1991 and henceforth. That was truly the highest level of very close inter-action between social sectors intended to resolve a pitiful and dire situation. We saw it with our own eyes and participated in the process and the entire affair yielded astounding success. Good for the people of Pangasinan.

We hope this will be replicated in Mindanao. Beyond the planning, design, the construction, this level of cooperation is the greatest imperative for recently calamity-prone Mindanao.

Related Articles:

Minimal floods Singapore (for now?) - Public Utilities Board Singapore

Widespread flooding in South Africa - Relief Web

Flood Alert - Mozambique - Relief Web

Australia: Highest Rainfall from Oswald causes floods - Huffington Post

Floods hit Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - The Star

Two Rivers Swallow Island Villages - IPhilippine Daily Inquirer

North Korea Floods killed 170 - Guardian News UK

212,000 homeless from North Korea floods - BBC News

Killer Landslides in Korea - Andrey Eroshin

Flash floods, mudslides in Korea - Columbia Tribune

Landslides, flash floods hit Korea - Reuters

List of Deadliest Floods - Wikipedia

Prior Scheme - River Bypass

2013-01-20T04:10:00.001-08:00

Latest scheme for Fleurdelis Green Heights Village

2013-01-20T03:53:00.001-08:00

Project 1 Lot documents

2013-01-18T19:48:00.003-08:00

Fleurdelis Project Lot Documents

Title No. 41974

Title No. 41974-2

Title No. 41974-3

Title No. 417024

Title No. 41702-2

Title No. 41701

Title No. 41702-2

Title No. 41701-3

Title No. 41700

Title No. 41699

Title No. 41699-2

Title No. 41699-3

Title No. 41699-4

Title No. 41340

Title No. 41340-2

Title No. 41340-3

Title No. 41340-4

Project 1 Lot Coordinates

2013-01-05T16:49:00.001-08:00

Updates

2012-12-07T20:50:00.003-08:00

1. The company CyberparkHoldings Inc. will be subsumed under Greengold-Cyberpark Fund Resources Inc.

2. All construction activities will be placed under a new corporation CyberparkGroup Inc. now under incorporation.

3.. All supply activities will be placed under Pacificana Resources and Trade Corporation.

4. For the Butuan City project, contact email has been changed from asiacommunications@msn.com and asiacyberpark@msn.com to postmaster@cyberparkgroup.com.

Closing of Clearing, Road and Environmental Works Contract for Fleurdels

2012-11-22T04:16:00.000-08:00

Local contractor with good PCAB rating will undertake the initial phase of the construction of Fleurdelis Green Heights -- FGH, specifically the Clearing and Road Works portion. Another local company with a foreign technology partner will also be undertaking part of the contract for the green construction component of the FGH development project.

A foreign company with a presence in Africa, China, Central America, India, South America, Canada and the United States, represented in the Philippines by a past Director of the Asian Development Bank will undertake the environmental works for the Fleurdelis Green Heights Project at Butuan City, Agusan del Norte Province.

Local competitors of the foreign company may be given a chance to participate in the other projects of CPHI provided they will be able to match the technology and capability of the existing foreign company recruited for environmental works.

Further announcements on FGH development will be made online and regular media outlets.

The completion of the Feasibility Study for the White Wave Resorts will also be announced soon.

Timeline Fleurdelis Green Heights

2012-11-18T18:51:00.000-08:00

Timeline

2012-11-12T18:04:00.000-08:00

The timeline for Baler and Batangas projects will be published soon.

For Fleurdelis Green Heights in Butuan, the timeline is shown here.

Techno Hub Project 3

2012-11-01T16:31:00.000-07:00

The third project, LHRR is originally with the government.

However, the pace at which the project is moving, can sometimes be too slow for comfort.

We decided to take on a different, alternate site, with the same size although different circumstances.

The template for the LHRR project is for the De Guia Estate, situated in nearby Cavite Province wherein the property cannot be acquired until a new title can be issued by the appropriate government functionary. The existing title is obsolete and has to be re-issued by competent authority. There are no liens nor encumbrances to the title except that the document is outmoded since it is a Spanish title. The original template that will be used as a model for LHRR takes on a senior citizen's habitat model. However, some very slight modifications for the actual LHRR may be in order, the final output will still include a component of the homes dedicated for our senior citizens.

Benchmarkings

2012-10-26T21:02:00.001-07:00

Transportation and communications, the large to medium scale international class port costs USD200 Million often with host country local counterpart funding for civil works.
Large to medium scale airports cost USD200 Million with host country counterpart in local currency for civil works.
Rail, the cost per kilometer of rail inclusive of cost of coaches, USD1 Million per kilometer. Recent price changes has pulled the price much further upwards.
Energy, the cost per Mega Watt production output of a prospective power generating plant, is USD1 Million per Mega Watt.
Housing, for upscale housing, the cost in the Philippines is from PHP20,000 to PHP100,000 per square meter.
Environment, in new technologies for water safety management systems, the cost per 15,000 acres amount to around USD2 Million. For 20-year old technologies, the cost should be about 50% to 75% much lower.
Much benchmark data is already available on the world wide web and directly accessible.
Project Owners or Contractors are advised to beware of supplier or service provider companies that charge double or triple the price of their capabilities. Many companies are not transparent with their competencies, making project owners and general contractors suffer at the end when the true worth of their services, supplies and technologies turn out not to be what was paid for.
On the question of contracting, before the enabling documents or agreements are inked, a middle road should be reached through patient negotiations with suspect companies. However if a decent and fair price cannot be arrived at, no contract should be signed with over billing companies using obsolete software or hardware and providing substandard supplies.

Second site for Liberty Hills Project

2012-10-25T21:40:00.005-07:00

The Liberty Hills Residences and Resorts Project will be undertaken in partnership with the government. The site is at Palico, Barangay Bilaran, Municipality of Nasugbu, Batangas.

The procedures and dynamics prior to entering into full function construction with government is a very lengthy one. In this view, Cyberparks determined to include a second site in its portfolio. There will now be two Liberty Hills projects within Batangas Province.

The acquisition of project area for the second site is in the negotiations phase. An announcement will be made shortly on the details of the project and the possible participation of interested contractors for the construction of the residential and entertainment complex