November 15, 2012

Column | Korky Koroluk

P3 recipe for private Honduran cities

The biggest public-private partnership I’ve ever heard of has been proposed in Honduras, a struggling Central American country trying desperately to find ways to expand its economy.

Word came last week that the country plans to have three privately run cities built. They will have their own police, laws, government and tax systems, making them, in effect, city-states located in Honduras, but hardly a part of it.

An interested group of investors and government representatives has signed a memorandum of agreement allowing the private-sector investors and planners to proceed.

The project’s aim is to strengthen Honduras’ weak government, which is overwhelmed by corruption and drug-related crime. In addition, there is lingering political instability after a 2009 coup d’état, making it almost impossible to copy with a crumbling infrastructure.

According to the memorandum of agreement, the cities will have their own judiciary, laws, governments and police forces. They will also have the power to sign international agreements on trade and investment and set their own immigration policy.

Work is to start within weeks on the basic infrastructure for the first city, to be built on the country’s Caribbean coast. The work will be funded with an initial $15 million investment from the MGK Group.

That initial work is expected to create 5,000 jobs over the next six months, and up to 200,000 jobs in the future.

The second city will also be built in the northern part of the country, and the third city in the south. No details were released about plans for them.

There are opponents, of course, including those who feel that it is inviting trouble to create states within a state, commercial entities with state powers but outside the jurisdiction of the government. Apparently, the Honduran president will appoint “globally respected international figures” without financial interests in the project to nine-member independent boards to oversee the running of the cities. Daily operations will be administered by a governor appointed by the board.

All that, of course, opens the door for more of the corruption. But one can’t help but watch and cheer for the effort. If honestly run government can emerge in these cities, the people will have earned it.

Also last week came news that the new Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence has earned LEED Platinum certification from the Canada Green Building Council.

It’s not really surprising, given the number of “green” features incorporated into the building.

It features a storm-water recovery system that captures rainwater to flush toilets and irrigate the building landscaped area around the building. It also controls stormwater discharges into a nearby creek. The building also features solar panels to provide some power and hot water, and a “biowall” a five-storey-tall living, green wall covered with plants that help control humidity and clean the air within the building.

The building’s insulation exceeds doe, which helps conserve energy by reducing heating cooling needs. That heating and cooling is provided by ground-source heat pumps. As well, several hundred trees of various species (mostly native) and more than 20 varieties of groundcover have been or will be planted, increasing biodiversity of the area by 300 per cent.

The undulating green roof is planted with sedums, a low, hardy plant, that offset some of the sun’s heat, thus lowering surrounding air temperatures. This helps control stormwater runoff, which creates less strain on the creek and on a nearby city storm sewer. A solar wall on the building’s west façade pre-heats intake air for the HVAC system. The building opened late in August 2011.

Finally, my apologies to the good folk of Duluth, Minn. In last week’s column I gratuitously moved them and their entire city to the neighbouring state of Wisconsin.

My bad.

Korky Koroluk is an Ottawa-based freelance writer. Send comments to editor@dailycommercialnews.com

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