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Purchasing The Entire Future In Advance
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Once, a government decided to build an airport for the future. Not for the demand it had. For the future. Montréal’s existing airport was becoming busy, and passenger numbers were growing rapidly. You know… Expo, Olympic Games… So Canada did what governments are often tempted to do. It thought big. Very big. The new Montréal–Mirabel Airport was intended to become one of the largest airports in the world. I repeat. In the world. The government expropriated approximately 400km2 of land… larger than the entire country of Malta. Con 2 c*jones. Or… with 2 eggs. Thousands of people affected. Entire farming communities disrupted. The airport opened in 1975 as a symbol of modernity, ambition and national confidence. But… The passengers never arrived. The forecasts had assumed that Montréal’s aviation traffic would continue growing at extraordinary rates. Olympic rates. They had also assumed that airlines and passengers would willingly abandon the existing airport closer to the city. You know… “Just a little bit further” Well… They did not. Mirabel was far from downtown. The promised transport connections were incomplete. Passengers connecting between domestic and international flights sometimes had to travel between two separate airports. Airlines liked more than Trump’s farts against Iran… Passengers liked it even more… more than a visit of the taxman. Eventually, the government had to allow international flights to return to the old airport. Mirabel’s last scheduled passenger flight departed in 2004. And in 2016, the enormous passenger terminal, built for the future, was demolished. Now, you know the danger of “Let’s build world-class, future-proof infrastructure.” It sounds responsible. Visionary. Leadership. But more often than not, it’s just an excuse for egos. Of course, infrastructure must consider future demand. But there is a difference between preserving the ability to expand… …and paying for the expansion today. There is a difference between protecting a corridor for another railway line… …and building the line decades before the passengers exist. There is a difference between designing a bridge so it can be widened later… …and constructing additional lanes that may remain empty for 20 years. Future-proofing should create options. Not require taxpayers to purchase the entire future in advance. Every unnecessary platform, lane, terminal or tunnel has a cost. Not only its construction cost. Finance cost. Maintenance cost. Operation cost. Renewal cost. Next time you’re in front of a client asking for the Moon. Do it. Be brave. And ask… Are we solving a real problem or building a monument to our forecast? For more personalized insights, you can book me below.
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Vicente Valencia
Weekly insights on how to perform when it matters | High-stakes decisions. Real situations. No BS. | 👇JOIN +2k readers 👇
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