Atlanta, For Immediate Release: Brazil ’s relocation of its capital to Brasilia, a city created from scratch in the nation’s interior, was a very big move in more ways than one, noted futurist McKinley Conway asserts in his new book, Global Super Projects: Mega Ventures That Are Shaping Our Future. Conway, in fact, chose the 1960 relocation of the Brazilian capital to Brasilia from Rio de Janeiro as the top government location project in recent history.

Brazil ’s landmark relocation, however, is only one of a host of mega-endeavors that Conway has selected as the most significant in recent history. In addition, the author of several dozen other books has chosen the top projects in 19 other important categories, ranging from environmental and conservation undertakings, to new airports, highways and other infrastructure elements. (To access all of Conway’s selections, as well as the Conway Global Super Projects Registry, look for the online version of the entire book that will be available by Jan. 16, 2006, at www.sitenet.com/books/superprojects. To go directly to the Conway Global Super Projects Registry, go to www.sitenet.com/books/superprojects/registry.)

Conway, a pioneer in the economic development field, made his selections from what he calls “Super Projects, the billion-dollar babies that are changing the face of world development.” A Super Project, he explains, “represents a cost of US$1 billion or more and/or a represents a technological breakthrough of worldwide significance.” Conway’s Atlanta-based research firm, Conway Data Inc., maintains a global Super Project database that now includes some 2,000 ventures.

Just how did Conway, who has studied major global projects for decades and brought together leading Super Project experts in a series of historic worldwide conferences, choose the crème de la crème? The winners, he explains, “were those deemed to be most significant in improving the quality of life for large numbers of the world’s citizens.”

Here, for example, is how the author explained his choice for the world’s top government location project:

“Brazil’s new capital at Brasilia deserves this honor. Also, Germany made a smooth $16 billion move to relocate from Bonn back to Berlin after reunification. It is not unusual for various regimes to propose relocating government centers. It is unusual, however, to follow through and make a move as big as Brazil did in moving the capital from Rio to a new site in the hinterland.

“Ten years ago the Japanese Diet voted to move the capital out of Tokyo. A site was chosen, but as yet the move has not been made. Argentina proposed to relocate from Buenos Aires to Viedma, a small city in the South, but nothing happened.

“South Korea has just announced plans to move its capital from Seoul to a new site in the center of the country at a cost of $45 billion. It will be interesting to see what happens.”