Infrastructure: Gabal

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Infrastructure Overview

The country of Gabal contains a mixture of emerging urban areas and primitive rural villages. Modern utilities are found predominantly in the cities and towns and at reasonable levels throughout the rural countryside. Forty-five percent of the nation has access to electricity with 77.5% of urban areas and 36% of rural areas respectively. Over ninety percent of Gabal has access to potable water, while 100% of the nation has access to a sanitation system, with 60.2% having access to modern sewage systems.

The infrastructure of Gabal is stressed and outdated. Emphasis has been placed on the modernizing of the infrastructure in recent years but it continues to be stressed due to lack of resources. Gabal has a dated mass transit system. Bus companies provide transportation in cities and to rural areas. The country still uses converted WWII vehicles as taxis and mopeds as a means for transportation that release significant pollutants into the environment. Two airports (one with a paved runway) are able to handle smaller commercial aircraft for the entire nation. The one major seaport is dated and can only handle shallow draft ships. The country suffers from high levels of pollution in the rural areas and the government has made policies to combat pollution in rural environments and water supplies.

Many of the urban areas contain single story to three story buildings. The cities tend to be extremely densely populated for an area of that size due to the mountainous regions found throughout the island nation. Typical rural construction is low quality wooden houses with corrugated roofs. The government has only recently (within the past 10 years) started using urban planning although there is still not a national standard required for layout of urban areas or minimum access to basic services. The city planners do have the knowledge for strategic and sustainable city planning. The materials consist of concrete, steel, and rebar construction methods. In rural areas prone to flooding, houses are built on pilings to prevent flooding. Military operations in urban areas will be strained due to limited amount of roads and the antiquated infrastructure. Resources will be needed to augment the infrastructure in the way of power, facilities, sewage, and rations. The military will find additional resources in the form of large unskilled labor pools.

Major Cities and Urban Zones

Gabal has three cities that account for 22% of the population of the nation. The national average population density is 53.7 km².

Infrastructure Matrix

The following chart provides the basic information for the four largest cities in Gabal. Overall, most of these cities are modern in some areas but also contain areas that are not.

Infrastructure Sub-Variables
City	Pop	Pop Dens/km2	UBD	Roads	Air	Rail	Sea	Power	Water	Sewage/ Sanitation
Puerto Princesa	255,116	110	M	M	M	NE	M	Dg	Dg	Dg
Coron	51,803	75	M	M	M	NE	M	Dg	Dg	Dg
Busuanga	22,046	56	L	P	M	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE
Culion	20,139	40	L	P	P	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE
Legend: Population (Pop); Density (Dens); kilometer (km) Per TC-7-101: UBD = Urban Building Density; low (L); medium (M); high (H); primitive (P); moderate (M); complex (C); non-existent (NE); degraded (Dg); developed (Dv)

Puerto Princesa

As the former capital of Gabal during the colonial era, Puerto Princesa was the economic hub for the country.  Development within the city continued through the end of the colonial era, however with the transition of the government to Coron the city has entered a period of fluctuation and degradation. With the economic benefits related to colonialism gone, and now the influx of money related to governance gone, the city has lost much of its former importance.  That said, it is still the largest city in the country, and continues to be the most important part of Gabal’s struggling economy thanks to its ability to attract tourism. The buildings in the main urban areas consist of multi-story buildings.

Coron

As Gabal’s capital city, Coron serves as the only significant port for the nation and sits on Coron Bay. The areas north of the Pasig River tend to be the centers of trade and commerce.  The city center serves as the core for the government. The buildings in the main urban areas consist of multi-story buildings, single family and duplex dwellings, and resort type accommodations for tourists. The city is very condensed as the Bay of Coron is to the west and south and mountains surround the other sides.

Busuanga

Located 45 km. northwest of Coron, Busuanga is the second largest city in Gabal. Tourism plays a significant role in the economy of the city. Construction in the city is mainly one-story resort hotels and single-family dwellings of concrete and rebar construction. As you move out of the center, it becomes more rural and again becomes more subsistence living and impoverished.

Culion

Culion lies approximately 22 km. southwest of Coron and is the third largest city in Gabal. The basis for Culion's economy is mainly tourism and associated service industries. It also has several of the best tourist beaches, which bring revenue to the local area. The construction in the city center is mainly one or two story resort hotels, hostels, and single-family dwellings of concrete and rebar construction. As you move out of the center, it becomes more rural and again becomes more subsistence living and impoverished.

Energy Sector

Forty-five percent of Gabal's population has access to public electricity, 77.5% in urban areas and 36.0% in rural areas. Gabal produces 100% of its electricity from fossil fuels from two plants operating on a "mini-grid." Due to the poor economic conditions of the country, there are not many investors interested in increasing the energy supply in the country. The current two plants are over 40 years old and repair parts are difficult to obtain.

Nuclear Power

Gabal have no nuclear power plants.

Renewable Power

Some families may possessing solar panels they place on their roof, but these usually only provide minimal amounts of electricity. In recent years there have been significant pushes for the development of a renewable power grid, however the cost of such a grid means that it is unlikely to be developed without significant foreign support.

Hydrocarbon Power

The Gabal government operates five diesel power plants that use outdated technology Scheduled daily blackouts are common, and most businesses use backup generators.

Hydroelectric Power

There are no hydroelectric power plants in Gabal. Any plants built in the future would produce less than 100 kW of electricity daily making them micro hydro plants. Some of the rural communities could use a pico hydro system that would produce less than 5 kW per day, barely enough for a small community. The cost of the system would be cost prohibitive for most Gabalian families and would need financial assistance.

Power Plant Data Matrix

Gabal Power Plants
Name or Location	Fuel Type	Capacity (MW)	Latitude	Longitude		MGRS
Delta Princesa Power Plant	Diesel	23	9.85054		118.73599	50PPR9037089381
Roxas Power Plant	Diesel	3.6	10.31854		119.32441	50PQS5455841557
Busuanga Power Plant	Diesel	8	12.0295		120.1609	51PSP9085531412
Culion Power Plant	Diesel	.75	11.8817		120.0149	51PSP7476815217
Legend: megawatt (MW)     MGRS: Military Grid Reference System

Home Heating

Houses in Gabal are often quite small, especially those in the rural communities. Due to the climate, heating is not needed for most months. In the cities, most houses use heat produced by electricity. In rural areas, houses are normally heated by burning wood.  

Water and Sanitation

Water

Nearly all of the residents of Gabal (93.3%) have access to potable water. Apart from the importation of bottled water, desalination and rainwater tanks are the two main water sources supplying households in Gabal. The main desalination plant, as well as the rain and water tanks, provide for 35% and 59% of households, respectively. A large proportion (64%) of those in the top 20% income bracket rely on rain and own water tanks, compared to other sources of water (only 24%). On the other hand, 83% of households in the bottom third for income rely on a 40-year old desalinization plant as their main water source supply. Lower income/expenditure households rarely use their own water tanks due to the high cost. However, the desalinization plant, constructed during the heyday of chromite mining, is now operating well under peak capacity (<70%) due to maintenance issues, an inability to secure repair parts, and increased contamination in the water supply that the plant has trouble filtering. Water from this source carries increasing levels of potentially toxic materials. As the landscape becomes more rural the methods for obtaining water move to unprotected wells and streams. The water distribution pipes are old and in some parts of the cities are starting to fail. The public works department is constantly repairing them, which also damages the roadways.

Sanitation

All residents have access to some type of sanitation services. 60.2% of the population has access to modern plumbing (septic or sewer systems) while 39.8% have access to unimproved methods of sanitation. The main form is pit latrines. Less than 10% of the wastewater is treated which, combined with pollutants from mining and lumber operations, has led to contamination of almost all of the groundwater. Due to limited wastewater treatment facilities, most domestic wastewater is discharged without treatment. 

While an outdated marginally capable sewage systems exist in urban areas, sewage systems in rural areas are further antiquated or non-existent. Only 49.1% of rural residents in Gabal have access to a modern sewage system, which are predominantly in the form of septic systems. The remaining 50.9% of the rural population use pit latrines.

Transportation Architecture

Roads are the primary transportation method throughout Gabal. The roads, especially rural roads, are in poor condition at best, due to lack of maintenance. The mining companies and logging industry funded the development of the road networks over 40 years ago to move products to the ports. Since the decline of those industries, little has been done to maintain or improve them. Movement between islands often requires hiring a local with a boat to ferry passengers or goods.

Road System

Overall, roads in Gabal fail to meet US or Western European standards.  Driving is extremely hazardous and becomes even more hazardous at night due to lack of driver skills and poor roads. In general, drivers fail to obey traffic laws and drive erratically. The conditions of the roads range from maintained paved roads to dirt tracks that are used by pedestrians and livestock. 

Paved Roads

Gabal does not have a national road network. The nation has a total of 1500 km of roads and 650 km are paved. The paved roads are in various states of disrepair. The road network was originally developed and financed by the mining and logging companies to facilitate the movement of equipment and goods. Since the decline in logging and chromite mining, the nation has not done routine maintenance and upkeep on the roads.

Unpaved Roads

Gabal has over 850 km of unpaved dirt roads. These roads can be especially dangerous due to not being maintained, a lack of streetlights, and pedestrian and livestock traffic. Military traffic / convoys on the road networks will be stressed due to lack of quality roads and the unmaintained dirt roads throughout the island nation. The amount of pedestrian traffic on the rural roads will also be an issue.

Local Driving Habits

Due to the low number of motorized vehicles and the condition of the roads throughout Gabal, the problems found in many other countries are not found in Gabal. Those that can drive in Gabal pay little attention to road signs and standard driving courtesies, however, so there are large number of vehicle accidents. These accidents often involve non-motorized vehicles as the drivers usually travel faster than they should do for the road conditions and pay little attention to their surroundings. Motor vehicle drivers do not yield the right away to pedestrians creating a large number of confrontations between drivers and pedestrians. The pedestrians use the dirt roads like a walking path while the drivers attempt to get around them to continue on their journey. Entrepreneurs on bicycles, motorcycles, or other conveyances zoom around people in urban areas.

Public Transportation System

The primary public transportation method in Gabal are buses and hired automobiles. The larger the populated area, the more likely it is to have more frequent bus traffic. The bus companies are independently owned and operated. The buses run both in the major metropolitan areas and to the more rural areas. Travel by bus to the more remote areas of the each island can take several hours despite the small size of the islands. The conditions of the roads degrades the further you move from the larger urban centers. There is limited bus services on Culion Island focusing mainly on the large tourist centers of Culion proper and Molpok. For those with automobiles, the owners will hire their vehicle out for cash money.

Rail

Due to the small size of the islands, Gabal does not have any railway lines. The mining and timber companies did not feel it would be economically sound to install them and the government lacks the resources to install them now.

Air Transportation Systems

Gabal contains six airstrips, three with paved runways. The chart below shows the details for each runway.

Paved Runways

There are only three paved runways in Gabal, one in Puerto Princessa, one near San Vicente, and the other near Coron.

• Over 10,000 feet: 0
• 8,000 to 10,000 feet: 1
• 5,000 to 8,000 feet: 1
• 3,000 to 5,000 feet: 1
• Under 3,000 feet: 0

Unpaved Runways

There are three dirt runways in Gabal and all are under 2300 feet in length.

• Over 10,000 feet: 0
• 8,000 to 10,000 feet: 0
• 5,000 to 8,000 feet: 0
• 3,000 to 5,000 feet: 0
• Under 3,000 feet: 3

Airfield Data

The following are the major runways located in Gabal.

Gabal Airfields
City	Length (feet)	Width (feet)	Elv (Feet)	MGRS	Lat	Long	Surface Type	Lts
Balabac	6800	150	50	50PNQ3638909706	8.2297	117.3304	Dirt	No
Bataraza	5000	85	23	50PNQ4800245184	8.5505	117.4362	Asplt	Yes
Busuanga	2300	90	3	50PRU1647446160	12.1620	119.9078	Dirt	No
Coron	3300	98	148	51PSP8432641667	12.1215	120.1000	Con	Yes
Coron	1952	25	27	51PSP9515029398	12.0117	120.2005	Dirt	No
Culion	1400	25	154	50PRU2010512240	11.8553	119.9378	Dirt	No
El Nido	3280	75	1998	50PQT6392239385	11.2019	119.4169	Con	No
Puerto Princesa	8,530	148	71	50PPR5954444172	9.4431	118.4532	Con	Yes
San Vicente	5288	148	24	50PQS4886064361	10.525	119.274	Con	Yes
Taytay	3610	59	80	50PQS7417697048	10.8186	119.5075	Con	No
Legend: Elv = Elevation    MGRS = Military Grid Location System Lat = Latitude   Long = Longitude                 Con = Concret     Lts = Lights

Maritime

Major ports in Gabal

Seaports

Gabal has two seaports, the Port of Coron and the Port of Puerto Princesa.  The Port of Coron is located along the Coron Bay. There is no reported data for the annual cargo throughput and due to the depth of water and size of the port, the Port of Coron cannot accommodate Military Sea Lift (MSC) Commands Large, Medium-Speed Roll-on/Roll-off (LMSR).

The Port of Coron consists of one port facility and is a shallow water port. It is run by the government of Gabal and has a pier that extends 123m, is 12m wide, and with a depth of 10m alongside. The port is open year round and handles some ships. Larger vessels anchor in the bay of Coron, which has a depth of 18-22m, and use small crafts and barges to move goods and people to shore. The port was originally designed for use by the logging and mining companies but has since been upgraded to support the tourist industry. There is a possibility of dredging the port and bay to make it capable to support ships with a larger draft if an entity would invest in it.

.The Port at Puerto Princesa is located near Latitude 09° 44"N, Longitude 118° 43"E, near the Princesa Strait. Land access to the Port at Puerto Princesa is restricted by steep terrain, with only a pair of paved roads entering the port. Notably there is a coral reef roughly half a kilometer from the port. The seabed of the port is muddy and free of major rocks and obstructions. The pier is 480m long and the depth along the pier is 10m.

Navigable Rivers

There are no navigable rivers in Gabal for anything other than a canoe, kayak, or something of similar size.

Pipelines

Gabal does not possess any pipelines and does not plan to install any.

Pipelines

There are no major pipeline systems of any type in Gabal. There are no plans to install any in the near future.

Petroleum

There are no petroleum pipe lines, raw petroleum or refined products, in Gabal.

Natural Gas

There are no natural gas pipelines in Gabal.

Water

Other than the water distribution systems in the larger villages, there are no major water pipelines in Gabal.

Telecommunications Architecture

In Gabal, most citizens can access a telephone and listen to a radio or television, but only approximately 50% of the population has access to the internet. The tourism industry and government operate approximately one thousand landlines and only 19% of the residents have cell phones.  In rural areas, a tribal leader may have the sole cell phone for the village, which is then used as a community phone. The country has one radio station that is government owned. There are no local television channels and residents are required to use satellite dishes to watch television.

Industry

Gabal has limited capacity and has focused mainly on the mining of chromite reserves. The methods used were antiquated by modern standards and highly labor intensive. The government has tried to diversify by selling the rights to fish its territorial waters to other nations. This has yielded limited profitability and Gabal has not invested in any infrastructure to process and package the fish that would be required for any large scale commercial industry. Foreign investors are attempting to capitalize on the natural beauty of islands and have been focusing on tourism. The infrastructure will need continual modernization to meet the expectations and volume of tourists expected.

Food and Agriculture

The nation of Gabal has limited agricultural capacity. Agriculture in Gabal typically uses terraced fields that are fed by rainwater for irrigation. The methods of farming used in the past have caused the majority of the land to be contaminated, either from run off from the chromite mines or improper application of chemicals. Sustainable farming and crop rotation has only been introduced in the past thirty years. The island nation is unable to have any large-scale commercial farms due to limited arable land. The government has begun to replant the deforested areas, as they plan in upcoming years to begin using sustainable logging.

The farming methods in Gabal’s past relied on the use of toxic pesticides that are outlawed in Western countries. Military units need to be cognizant of the run off from the fields and contamination to the soil from these pesticides are often carcinogens.

Oil/Gas

Gabal has no oil or natural gas reserves, nor any petrochemical infrastructure. The country must import all of its oil and gas to meet the demand in the country from regional actors. There have been no plans for exploration of oil. Military operations in the area must ensure that oil is imported to support the economy and citizens of the country during and post hostilities.

Defense Industries

Gabal does not have a defense industry and must import all items for military use.

Nuclear Facilities

Gabal does not possess the infrastructure nor the resources to have nuclear capabilities.

Space

Gabal does not have an active space program. They rely on leased satellites from South Torbia for communications and navigational needs.