African Entrepreneurship Records

Chapter 835 Big Railway Blueprint

“Currently, our country’s railways are large but not strong, and many cutting-edge technologies still need to rely on foreign countries. Of course, the Ministry of Railways is currently actively promoting the training of my country’s railway talents and overcoming various technical problems. It is estimated that it will only take 20 to 30 years. Just be able to catch up with the international level,” Andre said.

Ernst: "Technology is a process of accumulation and cannot be achieved overnight. This matter must be done steadily and there are no shortcuts. At the same time, I hope the railway department will do the same. Sometimes the subordinate units should not try to save trouble. The concept of buying is worse than building." No, we still have to base ourselves on ourselves.”

Of course, what Ernst is saying is that in fact, in the 19th century, buying was the fastest way to break through technological barriers, otherwise East Africa would not be able to develop today.

Of course, buying is also a technical job, and you must understand the technology, otherwise you will be fooled and you will only waste time and money.

 In addition to buying technology, the other way to obtain technology is to "copycat". These two items are the "magic weapons" for the rapid development of East Africa's industrial field.

“Today’s railways are unevenly distributed, which is a very big obstacle to the construction of our country, especially the new land area and the reconstruction of the railway network. This is one of the focuses of development in the next ten years.” Ernst said.

“Our country has a short history and a weak foundation, so it has a short time to develop railways. At the same time, based on the development of foreign railways, it is estimated that in the next ten years, East Africa should build at least 40,000 kilometers of railways to barely meet demand.”

 An additional 40,000 kilometers is equivalent to 60,000 kilometers. This value is almost equivalent to the 2,000 kilometers of railways built by parents every year.

 East African families have little financial resources, have to make up a lot of lessons, and spend a lot of money, so they cannot rush for quick success in railway construction.

However, compared with the decline in the number of people, East Africa’s military expenditure has not dropped much, but it is mainly used to improve the level of military industry and improve the quality of the military.

For Ernst, disarmament is for the healthy development of the army, not for the abolition of martial arts. If Ernst is willing, the East African Defense Force can be as messed up as the US Army.

 Military expenditure has never been a small amount. For example, in order to develop its navy, the Japanese government invests more than 60% of its revenue in naval construction every year. It is currently the most militaristic country in the world.

Of course, Germany is also helpless. The standing army of France next door has exceeded 500,000, and there is a behemoth of Tsarist Russia to the east of Germany. Therefore, even if the German army is doubled, it will be barely enough.

East Africa is much more comfortable in this regard. Now the tonnage of the East African navy has declined, only more than 90,000 tons, which is 30,000 tons less than in the 1980s, and the army was reduced to more than 200,000 tons after the South African War.

The same is true for Germany. Today, the tonnage of the German navy has climbed to 190,000 tons. In the early 1980s, the two countries were still at the same level. Now Germany is about twice the size of East Africa, and the German army also maintains around 400,000 tons all year round. William II will also expand the German Army this year, which is exactly twice the size of East Africa.

Of course, this is also related to the current world economic situation. The rapid development of railways in the 1970s was a good opportunity encountered by the economic crisis, and the world's steel production capacity was overcapacity.

The U.S. Army has only 30,000 active troops and only 130,000 reinforced reserves. Of course, Americans do not need a large-scale army.

Of course, the goal set by Ernst still tends to be conservative. After all, since the end of the South African War, the defense pressure in East Africa has dropped sharply and military expenditures have been reduced.

The tonnage of the U.S. Navy has increased to 240,000 tons, ranking only after Britain and France and ahead of Germany. It is a typical "small army, big navy" pattern.

East Africa can only envy the size of the U.S. Navy. After all, in 1890, the United States had surpassed the United Kingdom to become the world's largest industrial country.

 Compared with the economic strength of the United States, its navy is actually not too "luxurious". For example, the French navy, the second largest navy in the world, has a tonnage of more than 320,000 tons. The tonnage of the British navy is more than 600,000 tons. From the naval tonnage, we can also see where the confidence of Britain and France to dominate the world comes from.

Even if France failed in the Franco-Prussian War, it would be nothing more than losing its status as the European hegemon, and it would not change France's strength as the world's second strongest country. After all, no matter how capable the German army was, its navy was suppressed by Britain and France.

In fact, the tonnage of Tsarist Russia's navy is not small, and should be close to France. However, Tsarist Russia, like Germany, is geographically restricted. The main Baltic Fleet and the German navy are all circulating in the Baltic Sea.

 All in all, in the 19th century, military investment in various countries was a huge burden. Although countries were not as extreme as Japan, it would also have an impact on economic development.

Maintaining a certain size of army in East Africa will also drag down the economy, but it is within an acceptable range and is necessary. After all, there are still 20 million black people in the country, and the lack of sufficient military suppression will inevitably have a negative impact on East African society.

On the other hand, the economic value that 20 million black people can create can definitely feed back the East African economy. Calculated in this way, it is very cost-effective. It is equivalent to black people sharing the military expenditure in East Africa.

You must know that Japan's population is only 30 million, and the value that 20 million black people can create is far higher than Japan. After all, East Africa is not a resource-poor country like Japan. Even if black productivity is low, under the whipping of East Africa, Break through its original productivity level.

This is especially evident in the agriculture and mining industries. As for infrastructure construction, black people have also made great efforts, but the specific value is not easily reflected.

Ernst said: "Railways and highways can drive the rapid development of steel and other industries, so railway construction should show an incremental trend every year to meet the development needs of East Africa. In the future, East Africa must build at least several national railway trunk lines, intertwined into a covering Nationwide rail network.”

“For example, Southwest Africa, although it seems to have little value now, is large in area and rich in resources. Therefore, even in Southwest Africa, at least one main line railway should be built to connect Walvis Bay with the interior.”

"The South Central Railway extends to Bloemfontein and Kimberley. A southwest-northeast railway line is also needed in the western Kalahari Basin and north of the Orange River as far as Upington, which is important for maintaining national defense security. significance."

“The northern Azande Plateau, the Great Lakes region, and Somalia all need railway construction, and the railway network in the central and eastern parts should also be improved. The central and eastern parts have been developed and have a large urban population, and a denser railway network is needed to promote sustainable economic development. "

“Lastly, in the eastern coastal area, many countries will build railways along the coast. The eastern plains of East Africa also need a north-south coastal railway to promote the economic development and linkage of coastal cities.”

The coastline along the eastern coast of East Africa is more than 5,000 kilometers long. It would take at least 4,000 kilometers to build a railway along the coastline, so Ernst’s idea is a huge project.

Moreover, if coastal railways are built in the east, this will certainly be the case in the west in the future. Even if the natural environment in Southwest Africa is harsh, the railway line along the Atlantic Ocean in the west will not be less than a thousand kilometers long.

Regarding Ernst’s words, East African officials have no doubt that East Africa can complete it, because railway construction capacity is an incremental process, just like the explosive growth of railways in the United States in recent decades.

East Africa is larger and more populous than the United States. East Africa is also much more dependent on railways than the United States. The United States has an endless central plain and a developed water transportation network.

 This is what East Africa lacks, so East Africa attaches more importance to railways. On this basis, it is reasonable for East African railways to at least reach a level similar to that of the United States in the future.

 (End of this chapter)