Chapter 671 Opportunities in the Northwest

The population of East Africa mainly flows to the three central provinces, and the secondary direction is the northern region. In the south, East Africa's enemies have to line up, but the north has no such concerns, so the order in the north is in good order.

Now that the western section of the Northern Railway project has been launched, this has further accelerated the flow of population to the northwest, with the Great Lakes region and the northern industrial belt as the main force.

"The western section of the Northern Railway is less difficult than the Hessian Railway, but the resources along the line are relatively scarce, so the return rate is destined to be low. However, if it connects to the Sigmaringen royal territory, the future prospects are still good."

"At present, 30% of the western section of the northern railway has been completed. It is expected that the entire line will be completed in the future and can be put into operation before 1887. By then, a northern artery will be officially formed from Mombasa in the east to Kabo and Bangui in the west, which will have an important impact on the economy, transportation and national defense of the entire northern region."

The Northern Railway has two end points, one of which is Bangui, the capital of East Azande Province and an important river port on the Ubangi River.

The Port of Bangui is an important tributary of the Congo River, from which you can go directly to Kinshasa. The navigable section of the Ubangi River reaches more than 600 kilometers throughout the year, and in the rainy season it can reach more than 1,400 kilometers.

From April to June every year, the rainy season causes the river water to surge and the Ubangi River to flow backwards. This is the same as the Amazon rainforest rivers turning directly into "oceans" during the rainy season.

After all, the Congo rainforest is the second largest tropical rainforest in the world after the Amazon rainforest, but the Congo rainforest is mainly located in the Congo Basin, which makes it very different from the Amazon rainforest.

This also makes the precipitation in the Congo rainforest an order of magnitude lower than that in the Amazon rainforest, which is directly five times that of the Congo rainforest. This is also the reason why the population in the Congo rainforest was so much larger than that in the Amazon rainforest in the past.

There is almost no population distribution in the Amazon rainforest, but the two Congo countries have a population of over 100 million. In fact, it is more appropriate to compare the Congo rainforest to northeastern India.

The Ganges River in northeastern India, the Yarlung Zangbo River in the Far East Empire, and the Meghna River in Bangladesh share the same estuary, so they are sometimes regarded as one river, with a flow rate directly exceeding that of the Congo River, but this division scheme has not become mainstream.

However, the small place of Bangladesh alone has a population of 100 million, and the world's rainiest place is Cherrapunji in the northeastern part of South Asia. Therefore, the amount of water in the Congo River basin is really not as much as that in the northeastern part of South Asia. This has to do with the strong influence of the Himalayas and the South Asian monsoon.

After all, the Congo River Basin covers an area of ​​more than three million square kilometers, and the entire South Asia is about the same area. The precipitation in the Congo River Basin exceeds 1,500 mm, while in northeastern South Asia it exceeds 2,000 mm, and in northeastern Bangladesh it directly exceeds 3,000 mm. There is no comparability between the two with the same area.

But this is also a good thing. The precipitation in the Congo River basin can barely meet the standards for human habitation, and it is not as difficult to develop as the Amazon rainforest.

This is also an important reason why Bangui has great development prospects in the future. The development difficulty is not as great as imagined, and the transportation conditions are also good. It can connect to the northwest of Angola and the Atlantic Ocean through shipping, and it can also undertake future land transportation between East Africa and West Africa.

This is very important. There are only two major land countries connected to the northeast of East Africa: the Abyssinian Empire and Egypt. As for the many colonial economies, their size is almost negligible.

West Africa is almost the same size as East Africa, and the resources are comparable, especially in iron ore, bauxite, oil and gas resources.

These three resources are relatively scarce in East Africa and can form a good complementary relationship with the East African economy. Therefore, the city of Bangui, which connects East and West Africa, is particularly important.

In addition, the most important thing about Bangui is its military attributes. Only by controlling the upper reaches of the Ubangui River can East Africa ensure that the lower reaches of the Congo River will not be threatened in the future. This is also the reason why both sides of the Ubangui River are under the control of East Africa.

As for the second terminus of the Northern Railway, the city of Kabo, it was entirely invested in by the Sigmaringen royal territory. After its completion, it will accelerate the development of the Sigmaringen royal territory.

"Moreover, the railway is connected to the Hessen Railway in Kisangani, forming a network of central and northern railways. Resources from inland industrial provinces such as Matabele can be directly transferred to the northern region through Kisang, and food can be circulated to the northwest through the Great Lakes region. Resources from East Africa, Northwest Africa and West Africa are then spread to the northern industrial belt and the three central provinces through Kisang. The domestic transportation framework for the central and northern regions has basically been formed."

The central part of East Africa, namely the provinces of Swabia, Hohenzollern, and Matabele, and the northern provinces of East Azande, New Bavaria, and the Nile River Province are separated by the Congo Basin.

With the Hesse Railway (Central Railway) and the Northern Railway connected in series, a large railway network in the central and northern regions can be formed.

The only unconnected areas are Somalia and northern Angola. The economies of Somalia and East Africa mainly rely on roads and sea transportation, and rely on the Juba River and the Shabelle River. The population and economy are distributed in a narrow and long line, and sea-river transport can be easily realized. Therefore, railways are not very urgent for Somalia.

The northern part of Angola is in the hands of the Portuguese, so the western terminus of the Central Province Railway has always been in the design blueprint of the Ministry of Railways.

"Based on the current progress of the northern railway construction, we can also make industrial plans for the three northwestern provinces and the Sigmaringen royal territory along the railway. The three provinces in the northern industrial belt and the two provinces in the Great Lakes region will provide counterpart support to the three northwestern provinces."

"First, we will increase the population of the three northwestern provinces, build a number of farmlands and villages along the railway line, and realize the development of the land in the three northwestern provinces. Secondly, because of the railway construction, we also need to re-plan the original transportation pattern within the three northwestern provinces and rebuild the transportation layout of the three northwestern provinces through highways."

After the railway passes through, the immigrant settlements, villages and cities in the three northwestern provinces that were originally distributed according to the terrain and roads will inevitably have to be replanned. The most important thing is to open up connections between them and the northern railway, so that the three northwestern provinces can be effectively utilized and developed.

"The Immigration Bureau plans to import at least 300,000 people to the three northwestern provinces within three years after the railway is put into operation. 20% of them will be concentrated from the relatively densely populated northern industrial belt and the Great Lakes region. Combined with the development of the Sigmaringen royal territory, the population of the three northwestern provinces will reach one million by the end of this century, around 1890."

The development history of the three northwestern provinces is not short. They were incorporated into the East African territory at the same time as the three central provinces, but their development mainly relied on military and trade with the indigenous countries and tribes of West Africa.

However, ever since East Africa supported the construction of the Sigmaringen royal territory, trade between East Africa and West Africa has been basically cut off. To rebuild the trade route, we must at least wait until the Sigmaringen royal territory is completely stabilized.

According to the East African government's calculations, it may take several years optimistically, because Sigmaringen is not as wealthy as East Africa after all, and it will take a lot of time for the Sigmaringen royal territory to learn from East Africa's experience.

However, for East Africa, this is an early-stage investment. Although the Sigmaringen Royal Territory cannot bring value to East Africa now, once it is formed, the value it creates will definitely be much greater than that of the indigenous people. This will also drive the future development of northwestern East Africa.

(End of this chapter)