Johnson should tell how deeply involved Oakervee was, has been and is on this ‘estuary lark’

By © Muhammad Haque
1140 Hrs GMT
London Sunday 25 January 2009


Question on Boris Johnson and Douglas ‘Doug’ Oakervee 'links' re ‘Boris island airport’. Johnson should tell how deeply involved Oakervee was, has been and is on this ‘estuary lark’

What this KHOODEELAAR! Question means is that Boris Johnson is neither so intelligent nor prophetic nor ethical or knowledgeable as to ‘come up with’ the estuary airport idea….

Nor is the distance between him and Oakervee so clear as to make the Oakervee endorsement [!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!] of the estuary airport plan acceptable le as an objective observation made with no material benefit or dependence on Johnson's approval…

Oakervee is also suspect because of the multi million $ scandal that he was linked to in Hong Kong....

About another airport.

Not dissimilar to the estuary idea …

That was in Hong Kong.

So Oakervee is far from being objective.

What is even more serious is the fact that he is involved in the crassly conceived big business Crossrail scam.


And Boris Johnson has been a peddling propagandist for that scam without showing any more evidence – which is zero – than Ken Livingstone had even been willing or able to show in justification of the CrossRail cam.

Thirdly, what authority does Johnson have to indulge in this self-publicity?

Fourthly: Where are the so-called ‘London Assembly’ members – who did their 'elected post holder' records [as opposed to their careerists records] a great deal of harm by heaping remorse upon remorse at the careerist demise of Ken Livingstone whom they all backed and applauded sp[art of their careers.

Those ones had said that they would hold Boris Johnson to account.

There is no sign of them doing THAT.

[To be continued]



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Hong Kong Blames Foreign Managers for Airport's Faulty Start
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By MARK LANDLER
Published: January 23, 1999
Seven months after Hong Kong's new $20 billion airport opened amid a riot of lost luggage and rotting cargo, a Government commission today laid most of the blame on the airport's Western managers.

Describing them as ''overconfident,'' the report said the executives should have asked the Hong Kong government to delay the opening by two months to fix bugs in the airport's flight information screens, baggage-handling systems, and its vast cargo terminal.

Shortly after the airport opened on July 6, its display screens went dark, luggage went astray and crates of cargo -- including fresh fish -- were left to rot on the runway. Though most of the glitches were soon solved, it was a stinging embarrassment for a city that prides itself on Swiss-watch efficiency.

The commission exonerated the Government, which had been accused by several opposition politicians of pushing to open the airport too early so the opening ceremony could coincide with the first anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China and a visit by President Jiang Zemin.

After interviewing 56 witnesses and combing through 800 boxes of documents, the commission said there was no evidence ''to indicate that the decision was made with any political or ulterior consideration.''

That set off howls of criticism from opposition leaders, who called the report a ''whitewash'' and said the commission had not investigated motives behind the Government's decision to open the airport in July.

''It was not a question of the airport managers being overconfident,'' said James To, a pro-democracy member of Hong Kong's Legislative Council. ''They all understood that this deadline could not be changed.''

Others said they were troubled that in a 702-page report, the only people criticized by name were four executives of Hong Kong's Airport Authority, three of whom are Westerners. Among those harshly faulted are Henry D. Townsend, an American who was the airport's chief executive, and Douglas E. Oakervee, a British construction expert who was the project manager. Both have retired, and they could not be reached for comment.

The commission did not single out either the chairman of the airport's board of directors, Wong Po Yan, or the chief secretary of the Hong Kong government, Anson Chan, who had oversight responsibility and headed the committee that set the July opening date.

''It's easier to point fingers at the expatriates,'' said Albert Cheng, an outspoken radio commentator. ''They're already paid off and gone. You don't want to embarrass the people who are still in power.''

Mr. Cheng and other critics said that since the handover, the government has shown a tendency to pin problems on foreigners. In August, when it intervened to prop up the stock market, it blamed overseas hedge funds for attacking its currency and stock market.

The airport has been a cause of acrimony between China and the West before. Britain conceived the project about a decade before the 1997 handover. But its vast size angered Beijing, which suspected the colonial administration was seeking to deplete Hong Kong's Treasury.

Obscured by all the recrimination is one happy bit of news: Hong Kong International Airport has recovered from its hapless start to win enthusiastic praise from travelers. Cargo -- human and otherwise -- moves through the mammoth complex efficiently and travel magazines have begun to rate it as one of the world's leading airports.



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