For passenger traffic, key global intermodal sites will enable passengers to move between air and surface transport seamlessly. An outstanding example is the new high-speed rail link built into the Paris Charles de Gaulle airport terminal. This billion-dollar improvement permits passengers to move between modes just as easily as changing flights.

New air-surface links are now underway at several key locations, including New York's JFK airport. Airtrain, a rail link to mid-Manhattan, is being built.

Fresh Water Projects
Many well-qualified observers believe that the world's top priority for the foreseeable future must be the provision of fresh water for drinking and crop irrigation. In many parts of the world, the issue is nothing less than survival. Thus, projects for desalting seawater and for recovering fresh water from natural sources -- via aqueducts and reservoirs -- are critically important.

No region has a bigger water problem than the Middle East. Heroic measures are underway. Egypt has launched an $80 billion plan to take water from the Aswan reservoir and build a canal to establish a "new river" west of the Nile extending more than 200 miles (322 km.) across the desert to the north. Libya continues to develop the "Great Man-Made River" -- a system of aqueducts taking water from deep wells under the Sahara to coastal plains along the Mediterranean.

The nations along the Arabian Gulf are investing in some two dozen large desalting facilities to meet growing water needs. Saudi Arabia leads with plans for 15 more plants and expansions. Abu Dhabi is building a new plant that will yield 50 million gallons (190 million liters) per day.

Altogether, there are some 50 significant desalting projects under way around the world. As technology improves and costs are reduced, desalting is becoming practical in many more locations. Projects are springing up at such sites as Tampa, Fla. Planners say it will be the largest such plant in the United States, and the water it produces will be the cheapest in the world.

Some of the most significant water projects are underway to meet growing water needs in Southern California, Arizona and Mexico. Billion-dollar projects include an inland feeder aqueduct to link Los Angeles water supply lines from the central valley and that from the Colorado River. Some $2 billion is going into an Eastside reservoir.

Elsewhere in the United States, there is a $6 billion project to build a 60-mile (97-km.) water tunnel to serve New York City. Boston has a budget of $3 billion for an expanded link to the Quabbin reservoir. Other projects include:

USA -- Houston plans a $1 billion water distribution system to replace wells.
Qatar -- To expand Ras Abu Fontas desalting plant to 60 million gallons (227 million liters) per day.
Turkey -- Plans $1.2 billion Melen project to bring water from west to Istanbul.
UAE -- New $1 billion desalination plant, with capacity of 50 million gallons (190 million liters) per day.
Morocco -- Feasibility study for desalt plant in coastal area.
Saudi Arabia -- New desalination plant to serve Mecca and Jeddah area, with a capacity of 100 million gallons (379 million liters) per day.
Saudi Arabia - New plant to serve Medina and Yanbu, with a capacity of 60 million gallons (227 million liters) per day.
Saudi Arabia -- New plant for Jubail area.
Saudi Arabia -- New plant for Dhahran area, with a capacity of 60 million gallons (227 million liters) per day.
Singapore -- To add two more desalting plants to $1 billion project under way.

Power Generation Projects
WDF files list well over100 major power generating projects underway around the world. These include nuclear, fossil fuel and hydro installations. Demand is particularly great in such large developing nations as China, India and Brazil.

While we debate the future of nuclear power in the United States, numerous new projects are going forward in other areas. Among significant nuclear projects are:

Taiwan -- $5 billion plant at Lungmen.
India -- $2.6 billion plant at Kudankulam, in Tamil Nadu province.
India -- 2,000-mw plant in the state of Andrah Pradesh.
China -- 2,000-mw plant at Lianyungang.
China -- New $5 billion plant in Jiangsu province.
China -- Two 600-mw units at Qinshan in Zheijiang province.
China -- Two 980-mw units at Lingao in Guangdong.
North Korea -- Two new plants, with estimated investment of $4.6 billion.

Meanwhile, fossil-fuel plants are being built at many locations. They include: