Chapter 1636 Reservoir Site Selection
If conditions permit, Ernst himself would not mind supporting the establishment of a new country in Gwadar, thereby squeezing the living space of Arab religious forces, but this is simply unrealistic.
If East Africa can control the area around Gwadar, or even just the entire southern side of the Makran Coast Mountains, it can also use the method of "wide planting and thin harvest" to support the immigrant population. Just like East Africa's territory in the Persian Gulf, the climate is also very harsh, but the area is large enough, and there are always some small oases suitable for settlement and stable water sources.
Not to mention that the Persian Gulf coast has resources such as oil that can serve as the local economic pillar.
In the past, the populations of countries like Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates were all very exaggerated. Bahrain's area was not as large as Gwadar under the control of East Africa. It was a desert island country of 780 square kilometers, but it had a population of more than 1.5 million. The UAE had a population of more than 10 million.
To put it bluntly, once the oil resources are exhausted, the above-mentioned areas will instantly become hell on earth.
However, Gwadar does not even have resources such as oil, so there is no possibility of expecting this place to become a stable independent country.
"In the future, Gwadar Port will only be a small town, with its main industry providing supporting services for the local troops."
What Crown Prince Friedrich said is exactly how East Africa currently positions Gwadar Port.
“So the number of people in Gwadar Port will not be too large, even if the military numbers are taken into account.”
"In this case, part of the territory in the Gwadar region is actually not very meaningful to us. We can trade the land on the east and west ends of the Gwadar continent with the Kalat Khanate in exchange for the land in the northern mountainous area."
"Theoretically, if we trade the coastal plains for the more hostile mountainous areas, the Kalat Khanate should also make some concessions, such as the exchange ratio between the two types of land. If we trade the coastal plains for the mountains, they should naturally compensate us with some land area."
Crown Prince Friedrich was not talking nonsense. Generally speaking, coastal plains are definitely better than mountainous areas, but it also depends on the type of coastal plains and mountains.
The coastal plains and mountains in the Gwadar area are among the worst in the world.
If the Khanate of Kalat was a country that valued the ocean like Oman, they would certainly have a higher demand for coastal land.
But in fact, the main population of the Kalat Khanate was distributed in the inland oases and river valleys, while there were only a handful of small fishing villages along the coast, and two ports were occupied by East Africa and Britain.
The area occupied by East Africa is the Port of Gwadar, but the Khanate of Kalat has no reason to claim sovereignty over this area from East Africa. After all, this was traded by East Africa from Oman.
The place controlled by the British is called Givony, which is located west of Gwadar Port. The straight-line distance between the two places is no more than 60 kilometers.
As for why the UK has a military presence so close to Gwadar, it is not targeting East Africa, but a historical issue.
Giwani is almost next to Persia, so Britain used to monitor countries such as Oman, Afghanistan, Persia and the Ottoman Empire by controlling Giwani.
Of course, after East Africa increases its intervention in the situation in Central Asia and West Asia, Givony can also be used by the UK to monitor East Africa's activities in the region.
Apart from these two special areas, there is no decent developed area along the coast of the Kalat Khanate. Therefore, for the Kalat Khanate, its coastline is actually of little value to the Kalat Khanate at this stage.
Of course, this is only limited to the current stage. The Kalat Khanate is simply too weak to develop the coastal areas. But in the long run, no matter how poor the quality of the coastal land is, its potential is much higher than that of the inland areas of the Kalat Khanate.
I am just afraid that the Khanate of Kalat will not be able to survive until that day. In its previous life, the Khanate of Kalat was completely wiped out by Pakistan.
Besides, the mountains north of Gwadar were of pitifully low value to the Kalat Khanate at that time. After all, the Age of Discovery had begun, and everyone knew the value of the coastline until today.
The mountainous area north of Gwadar has a harsh climate, is not suitable for agricultural development, has no abundant resources, and has very poor transportation.
The last issue is transportation, which is a fatal problem in the mountainous area north of Gwadar. Some towns in the Middle East have been able to develop under harsh conditions thanks to the development of trade routes.
Trade routes will inevitably choose areas with flat terrain, and the mountainous area north of Gwadar has never been an important commercial route.
"You have a point. Let's use the above reasons to contact the Kalat Khanate and exchange the land we need for it. To do so, we can abandon some unimportant coastal plains."
Ernst agreed with Crown Prince Friedrich's idea.
"Gwadar Port will become one of the important air hubs for our trade with the Far East."
"According to our plan, this place will become the Far Eastern Empire's logistics base for future anti-aggression wars, establishing air links with the Far Eastern Empire's strategic rear areas."
"Therefore, in addition to the construction of port facilities, a high-standard large-scale transport airport is also indispensable for Gwadar Port."
"Using Gwadar Port as a hub is always more efficient and time-saving than using Qatar as a transit point."
Ultimately, Gwadar Port plays a particularly critical role in East Africa's subsequent Far East strategic deployment.
Transport planes taking off from Gwadar Port can reach Sikkim via the southern route, and then head to the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in the southwest of the Far Eastern Empire to deliver military aid and strategic materials. The northern route can directly reach the Western Regions of the Far Eastern Empire, and then head to Guanzhong, Shancheng and other areas.
The distance between Gwadar Port and the Western Regions and Sikkim is more than 2,000 kilometers, which is also the core reason why Gwadar Port has become the most ideal aviation hub.
…
Gwadar, Makran Mountains.
Watson, an East African water conservancy expert, is leading his team to conduct the final survey of the No. 2 reservoir area located in the Mokran Mountains.
Watson, wearing a sun hat and with his skin tanned by the sun, was recording and correcting data on a piece of scratch paper while speaking to the official next to him.
"Although the conditions in Reservoir Area 2 aren't the best compared to Reservoir Areas 1 and 3, this area is completely under the jurisdiction of the Empire. Therefore, we can apply for funding from the Empire for the construction of Reservoir Area 2 in advance and begin construction work."
"After more than two months of investigation and tracking of local water flows, we can basically confirm that during Gwadar's extremely short rainy season, rainwater can flow here through those dry river channels and the terrain."
"It's just that in the past, there were no corresponding reservoirs in Gwadar, so the rainwater was wasted, disappearing into the ground or evaporated by the strong sunlight."
"According to my calculations, if the construction of the No. 2 reservoir is completed and rainwater from the surrounding area is collected here, it should be able to meet the minimum drinking water needs of 20,000 people."
"Of course, it's unlikely that we can fill this reservoir completely. Even if we don't use the water here, it will probably take several years to accumulate enough water for the No. 2 reservoir to reach a certain size."
Even if the No. 2 reservoir is built, it is impossible for the reservoir to be filled up. After all, the water stored here is also facing the problem of evaporation loss, and Gwadar Port will also use water from this reservoir continuously.
Sivag, a local construction official in Gwadar, asked, "Mr. Watson, as a professional, do you think there will be no mistakes in obtaining a stable water supply in this way?"
Facing Sivag's question, Watson said confidently, "Mr. Sivag, our conclusions are all drawn from real data statistics."
"For example, the local topography, climate and precipitation conditions. For this purpose, we even collected some inaccurate empirical data from the Kalat Khanate surrounding Gwadar."
"After all, they have lived here for generations and have a relatively rough set of climate experience."
"So after much research and on-site testing, we can clearly state that building a reservoir to store water is entirely feasible."
"Although Gwadar is dry, it also has relatively stable rainfall, but the amount is small. Now we can clearly know that in Gwadar, there will be rainfall under normal circumstances during winter and spring."
"Normally, this rainfall can reach 200 millimeters or even more than 500 millimeters in the rainy areas of the mountains. However, the rainfall is very short and concentrated, so the Gwadar area has no time to grow vegetation and the rain disappears quickly."
"In addition, in some years, cyclones in the Indian Ocean may also bring heavy rains to Gwadar, but such situations are rare. However, once such a situation occurs, we can say with certainty that the water in the reservoir can be temporarily filled."
With Watson's assurance, Sivag finally put aside his doubts. He said, "If that's the case, then Mr. Watson, please put together a feasible plan for the construction of the No. 2 reservoir area. We will report it to the mainland."
Watson was very satisfied with his answer. He said cheerfully, "It is my honor to be able to participate in the design and construction of such a project. This is a very representative work."
"The only pity is the No. 3 reservoir area. The conditions there are much better. If it could be fully utilized, it could even supply a city of over 100,000 people."
"But the No. 3 reservoir area belongs to the territory of the Kalat Khanate. Without the government's permission, we cannot use it."
The No. 3 storage area mentioned by Watson is located in the northwest of Gwadar Port, about 100 kilometers away in a straight line. In its previous life, it belonged to the city of Turbat in Balochistan Province, Pakistan.
The No. 3 reservoir area selected in East Africa is the important reservoir built by the city of Turbad in the previous life to meet its water needs.
Of course, the reason why this reservoir has the best conditions is that there is a river passing through it, which can serve as the water source of the reservoir. Turbat is a very typical river valley town in the Kalat Khanate.
How important is it? You can understand it by knowing that Turbat was the second largest city in Balochistan in the previous life. The population of Turbat in the previous life was more than 200,000. Including the surrounding areas, the population even exceeded 300,000 or 400,000.
Therefore, if a reservoir can be built next to Turbad, there will be no problem in supporting the water needs of a city.
However, the Kalat Khanate would most likely not accept this suggestion from East Africa, after all, Turbat was an important economic center for the Kalat Khanate.
Siwag saw this very clearly. He said, "Although the No. 3 reservoir area involves political issues, we are not completely powerless to intervene."
"Perhaps the Kalat Khanate would not allow us to build a reservoir specifically to provide water for Gwadar Port, but cooperative development between the two countries is very feasible."
"If a large reservoir could be built and shared with their Turbat, it would also be a good thing for the Kalat Khanate."
"After all, they don't have the ability to build such a modern, high-standard reservoir. Without our help, they can only watch the water go to waste."
Watson doesn't deny this, but he says, "Although the No. 3 reservoir is very tempting, from a political perspective, if we in East Africa cannot have absolute control over the reservoir, there is no need to build it."
"Reservoir No. 2 can basically meet most of Gwadar's needs. Combined with local groundwater resources and the No. 1 reservoir area, as long as Gwadar's population is controlled, that is, maintained at 40,000 to 50,000 people, there will be no problem."
"However, I don't think Gwadar Port will need that many people. We in East Africa don't need to undertake economic, agricultural, or industrial development tasks in Gwadar Port. It is entirely for military purposes."
"At most, we can provide berthing services for imperial merchant ships when it's convenient. However, we estimate that there won't be many such merchant ships. After all, from the Gulf of Aden or the Persian Gulf to the Strait of Malacca, it's unlikely that merchant ships will anchor here unless there's an emergency."
At this time, Sivag mentioned a point: "Mr. Watson's words make sense, but I think the imperial government may not only meet this demand for the construction of Gwadar."
"The Empire attaches great importance to Gwadar, especially the Gwadar Port Airport. This airport is quite large, and it will also open up routes to the Far East Empire in the future."
"Besides, since we can connect to the Far Eastern Empire through Gwadar Port, we can also connect with the Middle East, Central Asia, and even South Asia in the future. Therefore, Gwadar Port may become one of the Empire's important shipping centers on the Indian Ocean coast in the future."
Watson is not very optimistic about this. He said: "The Empire does attach great importance to Gwadar, this is an objective fact, but it is basically unrealistic for Gwadar to become a shipping center. After all, the Empire has built airports on the Persian Gulf coast in Qatar and other places, and the conditions are much better than Gwadar."
"Furthermore, the transport capacity of airplanes is far less than that of rail, road, and sea transport, and the economic benefits are not high, unless they are transporting high-value, high-profit goods such as medicines, weapons, or high-tech equipment."
"But if these goods don't require timeliness, they can be transported by sea or land, not air."
At this time, Sivag said meaningfully, "Mr. Watson, you are quite right, but think about the current situation in the Far East Empire. Do they happen to have a certain demand for some of the goods you just mentioned, especially medicines?"
Sivag's words suddenly enlightened Watson. Yes! He was worried about the freight problem, but now the Far Eastern Empire obviously had a huge demand for some of the goods he mentioned. After all, the Far Eastern Empire was backward in industry and technology, and was also facing the threat of war.
This means that there is a huge demand for medicines, weapons and other aspects.
(End of this chapter)
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