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The previous administration in South Korea had envisioned mega construction projects aimed largely at making it look good during the time of global economic dow

The previous administration in South Korea had envisioned mega construction projects aimed largely at making it look good during the time of global economic downtrend. Four river projects is another big disaster like Songdo. Building a city on top of sand is trouble to begin with, take a look at Dubai's projects. Spending billions on a city where nobody will come reminds me largely of the ghost cities in China. I just have a feeling this is a giant financial disaster for the Korean government, the only people who benefit from this are the Korean companies that lobbied and bribed their way to pocket billions of dollars in fees.

level09 12y ago
> Building a city on top of sand is trouble to begin with, take a look at Dubai's projects Are you sure ? I live in Dubai and have many clients who sell mega-projects. they sell out really fast and the hotels occupancy rate is really high (~80%) Even the airport has taken over Heathrow as the busiest airport for international passengers.
- notastartup 12y ago
  In a 2009 article describing the collapsing Dubai economy, The New York Times reported that the Palm was sinking and this has been confirmed now by geological surveys, at the moment it is 5 millimetres (0.20 in) per year but this could increase rapidly. I'm sure they have all the cash in the world to make it look like this isn't the case but there's only so much that engineers can do to reverse the laws of nature.
  - Retric 12y ago
    You can float buildings on sand/marshland. It costs more, but the buildings are vary stable.
- el_zorro 12y ago
  I think it's more about the literal action of building on sand. It erodes quickly and hence requires upkeep (dredging from where it flows to, and restocking where it flows from). Sand also has a nasty habit of liquefying during earthquakes, destroying buildings at their very roots. Although the Korean peninsula as a whole isn't at too great a risk of tremors[0], it's still a risk that they're taking. [0]http://geology.about.com/od/seishazardmaps/ss/World-Seismic-Hazard-Maps_20.htm http://geology.about.com/od/seishazardmaps/ss/World-Seismic-...

level09 12y ago

> Building a city on top of sand is trouble to begin with, take a look at Dubai's projects Are you sure ? I live in Dubai and have many clients who sell mega-projects. they sell out really fast and the hotels occupancy rate is really high (~80%) Even the airport has taken over Heathrow as the busiest airport for international passengers.

notastartup 12y ago
In a 2009 article describing the collapsing Dubai economy, The New York Times reported that the Palm was sinking and this has been confirmed now by geological surveys, at the moment it is 5 millimetres (0.20 in) per year but this could increase rapidly. I'm sure they have all the cash in the world to make it look like this isn't the case but there's only so much that engineers can do to reverse the laws of nature.
- Retric 12y ago
  You can float buildings on sand/marshland. It costs more, but the buildings are vary stable.
el_zorro 12y ago
I think it's more about the literal action of building on sand. It erodes quickly and hence requires upkeep (dredging from where it flows to, and restocking where it flows from). Sand also has a nasty habit of liquefying during earthquakes, destroying buildings at their very roots. Although the Korean peninsula as a whole isn't at too great a risk of tremors[0], it's still a risk that they're taking. [0]http://geology.about.com/od/seishazardmaps/ss/World-Seismic-Hazard-Maps_20.htm http://geology.about.com/od/seishazardmaps/ss/World-Seismic-...