Eighteenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

China instigated One Belt, One Road (OVOR) to connect China on a global scale not envisioned since the original Silk Road. The scope of this project includes development of trade routes, communications, cultural exchanges and transportation infrastructure with more than 150 governments and organizations participating and two-thirds of the globe’s population. A fourth of the megaproject transportation initiatives are in aviation and an unofficial Aerospace Silk Road is now forming to include a specific Spatial Information Corridor and represents the largest component of this project. Previous experts forecasted the Chinese to surpass the US as the world’s biggest aviation market by 2022. While the world was quarantined this expansion was taking place. Is the project overly aggressive and will it truly develop a sustainable aviation economy? This exploratory research scrutinized the progress and projections overcoming capacity limitations, global trade balance risks, and sustainability goals to provide insight into these questions. The promise of the OBOR initiative is immense, as are the opportunities and risks to sustainable development in the aviation and aerospace industry.