Chapter 870 Preliminary Work
Ernst stayed in the new city of Frankfurt for three days, and the reason for this was to focus on investigating the surrounding environment.
If the capital is located inland, first of all, this city must be like the first town and cannot develop heavily polluting industries. Therefore, all heavy industrial cities and resource-based cities in the central region are basically not within Ernst's selection range.
Secondly, the transportation must be developed and able to quickly reach all parts of the country. Many cities in the central region meet this standard, such as New Frankfurt, Lusaka, Kabwe, and the southern copper belt, which benefit from the central railway and are all areas with convenient transportation.
Then there is the environment, which is actually a secondary issue. Most of the plateau areas in East Africa are relatively livable and the landscapes are similar.
It seems that the New Frankfurt meets all the above requirements and is a very suitable place to be the capital. Of course, according to Ernst's style, it is highly likely that he would not choose to build the capital on the original site of the New Frankfurt, because the rise of the New Frankfurt relies on railways, and its own conditions may not be the best in the region.
Other cities, such as Kabwe, are the largest mineral development area in Zambia, especially rich in lead, zinc and heavy metal mineral resources, while cities such as Lusaka have mostly risen based on copper and other minerals, so they were not among Ernst's choices.
However, Ernst certainly cannot be the only one to deal with these troubles. The selection of the capital's location is a complex and important issue, so the location of the new capital must inevitably undergo continuous inspection and screening.
After the trip, Ernst immediately decided to return to the first town and then sent professionals to conduct an investigation around the new Frankfurt city.
Leave professional matters to professionals. Experts from the East African Geological Bureau, Meteorological Bureau, Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Transport and various fields, especially experts in urban planning and design, gathered in the first town to accept the tasks assigned by Ernst.
"First of all, the first point is traffic accessibility. Hohenzollern Province (western Zambia) and Matabele Province (Zimbabwe) are both located in the future economic center of East Africa (currently Mbeya City), and Hohenzollern Province is obviously better than Matabele Province in terms of transportation, mainly because it has advantages in connecting with eastern transportation. Of course, considering the future development of East African transportation, Matabele Province will not be bad either, but the upper limit of Matabele Province's transportation is just that. Compared with Hohenzollern Province, Matabele Province is located to the south. According to this situation, we can also choose Swabia Province (southern Congo), so as a compromise between the two, Hohenzollern Province has a very high lower limit of the national land transportation location."
The capital of a country must first consider transportation issues to facilitate the efficient transmission of government orders, facilitate the East African central government's supervision and inspection of various regions, and facilitate the arrangement of national military deployment around the capital.
For example, the current Guards Division is under the jurisdiction of the Central Province, which is on the eastern coast of East Africa. If a rebellion occurs inland or in other directions, it will be inconvenient for the army to send out to quell the rebellion.
"Secondly, it is about comfort. The average annual rainfall in the capital should be no less than 800 millimeters and no more than 1,500 millimeters. The temperature should be between 15 and 25 degrees Celsius, and it cannot be too low or too high. Many areas in the Hohenzollern Province meet this standard."
"We also need to consider the water source. It would be best if there were lakes and rivers as water sources, but not too many, like the many swamps in the western Hohenzollern province."
"The terrain is also key. It is necessary to ensure that the drainage is smooth in the rainy season and there is no shortage of water in the dry season. It is best if it has certain military functions."
After all, the climate in most parts of East Africa is seasonal, just like the eastern part of the Far East Empire, so it is not easy to find a place where you can get a stable harvest all year round regardless of drought or flood. However, it is not uncommon. For example, the current capitals and coastal cities of East Africa basically do not have too many problems after improving the surrounding rivers.
As for the so-called military function, Ernst only mentioned in passing that there are almost no places in East Africa with both rugged terrain and favorable natural conditions. This is because East Africa is a country dominated by plateaus, and most areas are only high in altitude, while the terrain is very flat. Except for the coastal plains, the difference between most inland mountains and plateaus is not prominent. For example, the Muchinga Mountains in the Hohenzollern Province are almost integrated with the plateau on the northwest slope, while the reason why the southeast slope is steep is that the Luangwa River eroded and cut down to form a large river valley.
"In terms of geology, we also need to choose stable areas and avoid volcanic and earthquake zones."
Ernst's request is not groundless. The African continental plate is actually relatively safe among all the plates in the world.
However, the volcanic earthquake belt is basically concentrated in the East African Rift Valley in East Africa. Although I have never heard of any major earthquakes in Africa except Morocco in my previous life, it is still better to avoid it, especially around Nairobi, where many small-scale earthquakes have occurred in my previous life.
As for the issue of volcanoes, it can actually be completely ignored. Most of the volcanoes in East Africa are extinct volcanoes, and the most famous active volcano is probably the Nyamulagira volcano in Africa, located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is also one of the largest active volcanoes in the world, but Ernst would definitely not choose to set up a new capital in the Congo region.
The Hohenzollern Province is generally far away from the volcanic earthquake zone, that is, the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, so its overall safety is relatively reliable.
The biggest natural disasters in the area are floods and droughts, so this is the main reason for choosing areas with abundant water resources and good terrain, which can effectively avoid natural disasters.
"Finally, we need to consider economic factors, including industrial and agricultural foundations. Agricultural conditions must be favorable to support the central region. Second, industry should be considered. This should be combined with the capital's functions as a political, cultural, educational, and scientific and technological center. It would be best if it could form a cooperative relationship with cities in the region."
If industrial development is to be considered, then Ernst does not need to choose and can directly lock on to the new city of Frankfurt. However, in Ernst's opinion, the capital should not interfere too much in regional industrial deployment.
Just like the First Town City, basically most of the production functions are handed over to the city of Dar es Salaam, so that the economic data of the First Town City is not high in the country.
After all, Dar es Salaam is only more than 50 kilometers away from the first town, and there is also Bagamoyo City nearby, so basically nothing is missing.
"During this trip to the central region, I focused on New Frankfurt. New Frankfurt is developing well and is also a national transportation hub. Therefore, it would be best if the capital could be close to New Frankfurt so that the transportation problems of the new capital can be guaranteed."
This is a question of leveraging the situation. For example, the first town is not the place with the most developed transportation in the Central Province. It is far behind Dar es Salaam, Bagamoyo and Morogoro. However, no one would say that the transportation conditions in the first town are poor, because the first town has railways, canals and roads, and there is no problem in going across the country by just going through a few nearby cities.
"Of course, relocating the capital is a complicated process. I have no plans to do so in this century, so you still have plenty of time. Take your time and make sure to select the best location for the future capital."
That being said, there are actually only seven years left until the end of this century, but this is enough time to conduct an investigation and do some preliminary preparation for the new capital.
Of course, there is another important reason for not moving the capital now, that is, the economic situation in the central region cannot yet be compared with that in the east. If the capital is moved there at this time, if an existing city is not chosen, I am afraid that the officials in East Africa will have to work in the open air.
(End of this chapter)
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