Chapter 634: Plan Selection
Province of Hesse.
In terms of name, it corresponds to the Grand Duchy of Hesse in Germany. In fact, Hesse was just a countship in the 18th century, just like the Principality of Hechingen. However, during the disintegration of the Holy Roman Empire in 1803, Hesse seized the opportunity and achieved territorial expansion. Later, Napoleon formed the Confederation of the Rhine, and Hesse was promoted to a grand duchy by Napoleon. It annexed more territory and officially became one of the important states of Germany.
The capital of the Grand Duchy of Hesse is Wiesbaden, but in the past, the most famous city in the German state of Hesse should be Frankfurt, one of the financial centers of Europe.
The Grand Duchy of Hesse, from the literal meaning, you can understand the characteristics of this state, that is, there are many forests. Three-fifths of the country's land is covered by forests. It is the place with the most forests in Germany and has many river valleys and basins.
The name of the East African Province of Hesse is largely due to the fact that the natural characteristics of the Province of Hesse are similar to those of the Grand Duchy of Hesse, that is, dense forests.
Hesse is located on the eastern edge of the Congo rainforest and on the west side of the Mitumba Mountains, so it has abundant rainfall. In addition, it is covered with mountains and plateaus, so the forest coverage rate is over 75%.
It did not reach 90 percent because after the merger of the southern Mitumba Province, part of the Katanga Plateau was acquired, and the Katanga Plateau has a typical tropical savannah climate.
At the same time, by merging with Mitumba Province, Hesse Province also borders Lake Soren (Lake Tanganyika). On the west side is the Congo River, the river with the largest flow in East Africa, and on the east side is Lake Tanganyika, the lake with the most freshwater resources in East Africa. Therefore, Hesse Province has quite abundant water resources.
Currently, the development of Hesse Province is relatively good among all the provinces in East Africa, and the East African Railway Company has also determined the overall plan of the Hesse section of the Central Railway after more than half a year of investigation.
"The Lualaba River (the upper reaches of the Congo River) is more than 1,800 kilometers long, but it has many rapids and waterfalls, and the water transportation conditions are poor. This has made the north-south transportation development in Hesse very unsatisfactory. Instead, the east-west transportation is connected to the outside world through the railways of the Great Lakes region, Lake Tanganyika, and the city of Bujumbura. However, this has also made the economy of the entire Hesse province easily divided. At the same time, due to the existence of the Congo rainforest, the hinterland between the north and south of East Africa lacks a major transportation artery connecting them. This is quite regrettable." said Bamir, an engineer of the East African Railway Company.
If the Lualaba River were navigable, it would be great, and there would not even be any need to build the Hessen section of the Central Railway. However, due to the terrain, the Lualaba River passes through plateaus and plains, so there is a large difference in terrain, and there are many waterfalls and rapids, which makes the Lualaba River's navigability very poor. Correspondingly, the hydropower resources are very abundant.
"The main channel of the Congo River from the downstream of Kisangani (Kisangani, the third largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly known as Stanleyville) to Kinshasa is a natural waterway with very convenient water transportation. If it can be connected to the railway, it will also be of great benefit to the development of the Congo rainforest in East Africa."
The city of Kissan was discovered by the Belgian explorer Stanley in the past because it is an important dividing point between the Congo River and the Lualaba River.
The Kisangani Falls are located here. The downstream is the navigable river section, and above the falls is the Lualaba River.
“So now that the Central Railway and the Northern Railway are connected, a major point of disagreement is whether to pass through Kissan. If it passes through Kissan, it will connect the two railway arteries with the Congo River waterway, which will be of great benefit to the development of Kissan. In the future, Kissan’s development will be no less than that of coastal cities.
If it does not pass through Kisan, the entire northern railway will have to move north, with the main part passing through New Bavaria (eastern Azande Plateau), and New Bavaria will certainly be happy to see it happen.”
This is the dispute between the two major north-south plans for the extension of the northern railway. In fact, both plans are in line with Ernst's ideas, and in Ernst's view, both are necessary to build, but which one to build first is very important. The one built first will allow the people along the line to experience the benefits of the railway earlier.
Bamir's student, Christian, suggested: "In terms of distance, there is not much difference between the two options. Both start from Kisumu and end in Bangui. The difficulty is also similar. The northern route has to pass through the Nile Basin, and the southern route has to pass through the Congo Basin. Both pass through large rainforests and swamps, so the most important thing is to consider the economic benefits brought by the railway. The sooner the benefits can be obtained, the better."
“Then it is more reliable to choose the southern route. One reason is that the economy of Hesse is more active than that of New Bavaria. The other reason is that the Central Railway passes through Hesse, and the Bujumbura City Railway is also a branch line of the Central Railway, which means there is overlap.
So it is better to go through the northern railway, so that the economy of Hesse can be connected to the two major regions at the same time. I also have an immature idea, that is, when the economy along the Congo River develops in the future, an important national transportation hub in East Africa can be formed in Kisan, and the northern line plan cannot achieve this effect. "Bami said to Christian.
An important function of a national transportation hub is to achieve economic connectivity. If the southern route is chosen, the economic ties between the northern industrial belt, the Great Lakes region, Hesse, and the three inland provinces (Hohenzollern, Swabia, and Matabele) will be greatly strengthened.
Among them, the northern industrial belt has been developing well, especially in the field of light industry, and has made outstanding contributions to East Africa.
The Great Lakes region is an important food and cash crop production base in East Africa. Relying on the great lakes, it has convenient water transportation and developed fisheries.
Hesse is also a province rich in resources. It is the largest rubber producing area and the largest forestry producing area, and is rich in various mineral resources.
As for the three inland provinces, they are the core areas of East Africa's current development. Relying on vast mineral resources and superior natural environment, they are focused on building an inland industrial base.
And the existence of the Congo River must also be taken into consideration, thus forming an important transportation hub integrating three lines, namely the city of Kissan, the capital of the province of Hesse.
Of course, the most important thing is that Hesse now has industries. In comparison, the new Bavaria is much inferior, and the gap between the two provinces is all-round, whether it is population, resources, or other aspects.
An important factor in railway construction is to get as close to cities or developed areas as possible, so it is natural to lean towards Hesse.
However, the construction of these two railways is the most difficult in East Africa, and is not inferior to the Trans-Siberian Railway. The two are at two extremes, one has a very cold climate, and the other has a very hot climate.
East Africa had to overcome the difficulties of terrain, and the Siberian Railway had to overcome the problem of permafrost, but they also had a lot in common, namely that there were many forests and swamps in the region, and the amount of logging and drainage work alone was considerable.
However, overall the Hessian Railway is less difficult, because the permafrost problem is much more difficult to solve than the terrain, and the terrain of Hesse is not complicated, at least compared with other countries. The Mitumba Mountains are not a natural barrier. Although they are called mountains, they are actually inseparable from the plateau. Its northern part is also called the Itumb Mountains or the Itumb Plateau.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
