Sheik Khalifa
Bin Zayed Al Nayhan, Abu Dhabi’s ruler officially opens one of the world’s largest container
ports.
The scale
and quality of the construction is awe inspiring and the opening did it justice.
The time and date for this auspicious event was at 12 am on the 12th day of the
12th month. 12/12/12 will go down in history as the beginning of the end of the
era of oil.
The Sheik’s
intention is that this is one part of a plan to prepare for a future beyond the
era of oil; extending the economy into new areas and building an infrastructure
that will endure after all the oil has been pumped. It is a grand ambition and
it is certainly a structure that will dominate the coast for centuries. Industrial
archaeologists will write papers on this grand folly of the age of oil, built
when the region was awash with cash and $9 billion was a small price pay to
have a port to rival any in the world.
The
intention is that Port Khalifa (named after the Sheik) will become a major
staging post for freight from the Far East to western markets. If the current
trend for long supply chains continues, Port Khalifa could become a major hub
for world trade; but there is a flaw in this plan. The end of the era of oil
will also bring to an end cheap transportation. As sustainability planning
takes over, the one-way supply route will become obsolete. Business will no longer
operate by manufacturing in China, shipping to Europe, selling, (using for a
while) and then junking. New manufacturing will be around the cradle-to-cradle
model of truly sustainable manufacturing and supply. It is the design and brands
that will be global but physical goods will be much more localised
I hope that Abu
Dhabi will find its place in the world beyond the era of oil, but the Sheik’s
advisors need to think a little deeper to deliver his vision of navigating a
safe path into the future.
Port Khalifa
has been opened in style and will stand alongside the pyramids as a memorial to
a once rich civilization but it is unlikely to have a future as port in the new
world order.
Photos courtesy
of the Abu Dhabi Ports Company media centre
I hope that Abu Dhabi will find its place in the world beyond the era of oil.
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