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MEGALOMANIAC BILLIONAIRE AIMS TO DESTROY AZERBAIJAN WITH ARTIFICIAL MCCITY
GreenProphet.com
February 11, 2013 Monday 2:16 AM EST
Iyou ask him, Ibrahim Ibrahimov will probably tell you that his plan
to build an archipelago of artificial islands[1], scores of apartment
buildings, bridges and the world's newest tallest tower will is good
for Azerbaijan, but really the billionaire is on a path that will
destroy everything that makes the capital, Baku, so special.
The New York Times recently profiled the billionaire, who is one of
the country's most powerful men. With close ties to president Ilham
Aliyev, he is uniquely positioned to realize a sudden mad idea he
had while flying from Dubai to Baku to build the artificial Khazar
Islands on the Caspian Sea[2]. And though he claims this is not the
case, the plan sounds eerily like Dubai[3]. Except worse.
While Dubai has damaged both the desert and the Arabian/Persian Gulf
with its rapid coastline development, Ibrahimov also plans to take
down Baku's rich collection of architectural gems with thousands of
shiny new apartments, 55 artificial islands, eight hotels, an airport,
a snazzy yacht club and a Formula One[4] racetrack.
Some of these mosques, mansions and palaces date back to the 7th
Century, according to NYT. But Ibrahimov's 24 year old assistant
gushes that all of it - including the street vendors - will be gone
by the time the so-called vision is realized by 2022.
The plan's biggest selling point, according to Ibrahimov, the building
that is supposed to draw scores of wealthy investors to a country
bordered by Armenia and Iran, is a 3,445 foot skyscraper called,
rather unimaginatively, Azerbaijan Tower.
He will live in a penthouse at the top, he has said, a goal that
instantly reminded me of my 14 year old cousin's naive declaration that
he wants to be so rich one day that he will have his own skyscraper
in Manhattan.
Ibrahimov is 40 years older, but he is no better able to keep his
ambitions in healthy check than my young cousin.
When he got off the plane on which he hatched his USD 100 billion
McCity idea, he didn't head down to the local planning office. Nor
did he contact his nearest environmental protection agency. Instead,
he went straight to his developers and had blueprints drawn up.
We would be willing to eat our words if this is not the case, but
the haste with which the 'vision' was put into place suggests that
environmental due process was perhaps overlooked.
Which is interesting since Ibrahimov admitted that The Palm smells
bad as a result of poor environmental management when that artificial
island was built in Dubai. Artificial islands disrupt the natural
ecosystem in which they are built, not to mention the mountain that is
being destroyed to provide the necessary 'foundation' of rock and soil.
Like Abu Dhabi, Azerbaijan got rich with oil. But so far, the
country's leadership appears to possess none of the humility regarding
environmental pressures that the Gulf country has demonstrated.
And this is dangerous. An inland lake, the Caspian Sea is home to a
dazzling variety of species, but already it is beset with pollution
problems - largely thanks to Azerbaijan's outdated oil refineries.
Then there is the not-so-slight issue of rising water levels. The
Caspian Sea has risen about 2.25 meters since 1978, according to
UNESCO[5]:
In addition to the danger posed to oil fields (e.g.in Kazakstan and
Azerbaijan), the sea-level rise results in changes in: water regime,
hydrochemical regime of river mouths, dynamics and chemical composition
of groundwater, structure and productivity of biological communities
in the littoral and in river mouths, sediment deposition patterns,
pollution by heavy metals, petroleum products, synthetic organic
substances, radioactive isotopes and other substances.
This doesn't bode well for artificial islands.
From: Baghdasarian
GreenProphet.com
February 11, 2013 Monday 2:16 AM EST
Iyou ask him, Ibrahim Ibrahimov will probably tell you that his plan
to build an archipelago of artificial islands[1], scores of apartment
buildings, bridges and the world's newest tallest tower will is good
for Azerbaijan, but really the billionaire is on a path that will
destroy everything that makes the capital, Baku, so special.
The New York Times recently profiled the billionaire, who is one of
the country's most powerful men. With close ties to president Ilham
Aliyev, he is uniquely positioned to realize a sudden mad idea he
had while flying from Dubai to Baku to build the artificial Khazar
Islands on the Caspian Sea[2]. And though he claims this is not the
case, the plan sounds eerily like Dubai[3]. Except worse.
While Dubai has damaged both the desert and the Arabian/Persian Gulf
with its rapid coastline development, Ibrahimov also plans to take
down Baku's rich collection of architectural gems with thousands of
shiny new apartments, 55 artificial islands, eight hotels, an airport,
a snazzy yacht club and a Formula One[4] racetrack.
Some of these mosques, mansions and palaces date back to the 7th
Century, according to NYT. But Ibrahimov's 24 year old assistant
gushes that all of it - including the street vendors - will be gone
by the time the so-called vision is realized by 2022.
The plan's biggest selling point, according to Ibrahimov, the building
that is supposed to draw scores of wealthy investors to a country
bordered by Armenia and Iran, is a 3,445 foot skyscraper called,
rather unimaginatively, Azerbaijan Tower.
He will live in a penthouse at the top, he has said, a goal that
instantly reminded me of my 14 year old cousin's naive declaration that
he wants to be so rich one day that he will have his own skyscraper
in Manhattan.
Ibrahimov is 40 years older, but he is no better able to keep his
ambitions in healthy check than my young cousin.
When he got off the plane on which he hatched his USD 100 billion
McCity idea, he didn't head down to the local planning office. Nor
did he contact his nearest environmental protection agency. Instead,
he went straight to his developers and had blueprints drawn up.
We would be willing to eat our words if this is not the case, but
the haste with which the 'vision' was put into place suggests that
environmental due process was perhaps overlooked.
Which is interesting since Ibrahimov admitted that The Palm smells
bad as a result of poor environmental management when that artificial
island was built in Dubai. Artificial islands disrupt the natural
ecosystem in which they are built, not to mention the mountain that is
being destroyed to provide the necessary 'foundation' of rock and soil.
Like Abu Dhabi, Azerbaijan got rich with oil. But so far, the
country's leadership appears to possess none of the humility regarding
environmental pressures that the Gulf country has demonstrated.
And this is dangerous. An inland lake, the Caspian Sea is home to a
dazzling variety of species, but already it is beset with pollution
problems - largely thanks to Azerbaijan's outdated oil refineries.
Then there is the not-so-slight issue of rising water levels. The
Caspian Sea has risen about 2.25 meters since 1978, according to
UNESCO[5]:
In addition to the danger posed to oil fields (e.g.in Kazakstan and
Azerbaijan), the sea-level rise results in changes in: water regime,
hydrochemical regime of river mouths, dynamics and chemical composition
of groundwater, structure and productivity of biological communities
in the littoral and in river mouths, sediment deposition patterns,
pollution by heavy metals, petroleum products, synthetic organic
substances, radioactive isotopes and other substances.
This doesn't bode well for artificial islands.
From: Baghdasarian