African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1636 Reservoir Site Selection
If conditions allowed, Ernst himself would not mind supporting a new country in Gwadar, thereby squeezing out the living space of Arab forces, but this is simply unrealistic.

If East Africa could control the area surrounding Gwadar, or even just the southern side of the entire Makran Coastal Mountains, it could support the immigrant population through a "widespread but low-yield" approach, just like East Africa's territory in the Persian Gulf. Although the climate is also very harsh, the area is large enough that there are always some small oases suitable for settlement and stable water sources.

Not to mention that the Persian Gulf coast also has resources such as oil that can serve as the economic pillar of the region.

In my previous life, the populations of countries like Qatar, Bahrain, and the UAE were incredibly large. Bahrain, a desert island nation of 780 square kilometers, is smaller than Gwadar, which is controlled by East Africa, yet it has a population of over 1.5 million. The UAE has over 10 million people.

To put it bluntly, once oil resources are depleted, the aforementioned areas will instantly become a living hell.

Gwadar has no resources such as oil, so there is absolutely no possibility of it becoming a stable and independent country.

"In the future, Gwadar Port will only be a small town, with its industries mainly providing supporting services for the local military."

What Crown Prince Frederick was referring to is exactly how East Africa now positions the port of Gwadar.

"Therefore, the number of people in Gwadar Port will not be too large, even if the number of troops is taken into account."

"In this way, some of the territory in the Gwadar region is not very meaningful to us. We can trade the land at the eastern and western ends of the Gwadar continent with the Khanate of Qarat in exchange for land in the northern mountains."

“In theory, if we exchange coastal plains for mountainous areas with more challenging conditions, the Khanate of Qarat should also make a gesture, such as the exchange ratio between the two types of land. If we exchange coastal plains for mountainous areas, we should naturally be compensated in terms of area.”

Crown Prince Frederick wasn't entirely wrong; generally speaking, coastal plains are definitely better than mountainous areas, but it also depends on the type of coastal plain and the type of mountainous terrain.

The coastal plains and mountains in the region where Gwadar is located are among the worst in the world.

If the Khanate of Qarat was a country that valued the sea like Oman, then they would certainly have a greater need for coastal land.

In reality, the majority of the population of the Khanate of Qarat was located in the inland oases and valleys, while the coast consisted of only a handful of small fishing villages, and two ports were occupied by East Africa and Britain.

The area occupied by East Africa is Gwadar Port, but the Khanate of Qarat has no reason to claim sovereignty over this region from East Africa, since it was traded from Oman.

The area controlled by the British was called Givori, located west of Gwadar Port, with a straight-line distance of less than 60 kilometers between the two places.

As for why Britain has a military presence so close to Gwadar, it is not aimed at East Africa, but rather a legacy of history.

Jiwoni borders Persia, so Britain used to control Jiwoni to monitor countries such as Oman, Afghanistan, Persia, and the Ottoman Empire.

Of course, with East Africa increasing its intervention in the situation in Central and West Asia, Givori could also be used by Britain to monitor East Africa's activities in the region.

Apart from these two special regions, the coastal areas of the Karat Khanate had no other places to develop properly. Therefore, for the Karat Khanate, its coastline was not of much value at this stage.

Of course, this is only limited to the current stage. The Karat Khanate is simply too weak to develop the coastal areas. However, in the long run, no matter how poor the quality of the coastal land is, its potential is much higher than that of the Karat Khanate's inland areas.

The only fear is that the Qarat Khanate itself won't last that long, and in its previous life, the Qarat Khanate was completely devoured by Pakistan.

Furthermore, the mountainous region north of Gwadar had negligible value to the Karat Khanate in that era. After all, with the advent of the Age of Exploration, everyone has come to know the value of coastlines to this day.

The mountainous region north of Gwadar has a harsh climate, making it unsuitable for agricultural development. It also lacks abundant resources and has extremely poor transportation.

The last transportation issue is a fatal problem in the mountainous region 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 would naturally choose flat terrain, and the mountainous areas north of Gwadar have never been important commercial routes.

“What you said makes some sense. Then we will use the above reasons to contact the Karat Khanate and exchange the land we need for it. In this way, we can give up some unimportant coastal plains.”

Ernst agreed with Crown Prince Friedrich's idea.

"Gwadar Port will become one of our important air hubs for trade with the Far East."

"According to our plan, this place will become the logistics base for the Far Eastern Empire's future anti-aggression war, and will establish air links with the Far Eastern Empire's strategic rear."

"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 more efficient and time-saving than using Qatar as a transit point.”

Ultimately, Gwadar Port played a crucial role in East Africa's subsequent Far East strategic deployment.

Transport planes departing from Gwadar can travel south to Sikkim, then on to the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in the southwest of the Far Eastern Empire to deliver military aid and strategic materials. The northern route can go directly to the Western Regions of the Far Eastern Empire, then on to Guanzhong and mountainous areas.

The distance between Gwadar Port and both Xinjiang and Sikkim is more than 2,000 kilometers, which is the core reason why Gwadar Port has become the most ideal air hub.

……

Gwadar, the Makran Mountains.

East African water conservancy expert Watson is leading his team in the final survey of the proposed site for the No. 2 reservoir in the Mokran Mountains.

Watson, wearing a sun hat and with his skin tanned dark by the sun, was recording and correcting data on a draft paper while talking to the official next to him.

"Although the conditions in the No. 2 storage area are not the best compared to the No. 1 and No. 3 storage areas, this area is completely under the jurisdiction of the Empire. Therefore, we can apply to the Empire for funding for the construction of the No. 2 storage area in advance and start the construction work."

"After more than two months of investigation and tracing the local water flow, we can basically confirm that during Gwadar's extremely short rainy season, rainwater can be collected here through those dried-up riverbeds and terrain." "However, in the past, there were no corresponding reservoirs built in Gwadar, so this rainwater was wasted, disappearing underground or being evaporated by strong sunlight."

"Based on my data calculations, if the No. 2 reservoir is completed and rainwater from the surrounding area is collected here, it should be able to guarantee the minimum drinking water needs of 20,000 people."

"Of course, it is unlikely that this reservoir can be filled. Even without using the water source here, it would 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 to fill the reservoir completely. After all, the water stored here will also face the problem of evaporation and loss, and Gwadar Port will continuously draw water from this reservoir.

Siwag, a construction official in Gwadar, asked, "Mr. Watson, as a professional, do you believe that obtaining a stable water source in this way will be foolproof?"

Faced with Sivag's questioning, Watson confidently replied, "Your Excellency Sivag, our conclusions are all based on real statistical data."

"For example, the local topography, climate and precipitation conditions, etc. For this reason, we even collected some less accurate empirical data from the Khanate of Qarat surrounding Gwadar."

"After all, they have lived here for generations and have a relatively rough understanding of the climate."

"Therefore, after extensive research and on-site experiments, we can clearly state that building a water storage facility in the area is entirely feasible."

"Although Gwadar is arid, it also has relatively stable rainfall, just in very small amounts. We now know clearly that under normal circumstances, there will be rainfall in Gwadar during winter and spring."

“Generally, this rainfall can reach 200 millimeters or even more than 500 millimeters in the rainy mountainous areas. However, the rainfall is very short and concentrated, so the Gwadar region does not have time for vegetation to grow and the rainwater disappears very quickly.”

"In addition, in some years, cyclones in the Indian Ocean may bring heavy rain to Gwadar, but that is rare. However, if it does happen, we can say with certainty that the reservoir can be temporarily filled with water."

With Watson's assurance, Sivag put aside his doubts and said, "If that's the case, then please, Mr. Watson, compile a feasible plan for how to construct the second reservoir area, and we will report it to the local authorities."

Watson was very satisfied with his reply, and he said with a smile, "It is an honor for me to participate in the design and construction of this project. It is a very representative work."

"The only pity is the No. 3 reservoir area. The conditions there are better. If it could be utilized, it could even supply a city with a population of over 100,000."

"However, the No. 3 district belongs to the territory of the Karat Khanate, and we cannot use it without the government's permission."

The No. 3 storage area that Watson mentioned is located about 100 kilometers northwest of Gwadar Port, and in its previous life belonged to Turbod, Balochistan Province, Pakistan.

This No. 3 reservoir area, which was selected in East Africa, was an important reservoir built by the city of Tulbod in its previous life to meet its water needs.

Of course, the reason why this reservoir has the best conditions is because a river runs through it and can serve as the reservoir's water source. Turbod is a very typical river valley town in the Karat Khanate.

To understand how important it is, one only needs to know that in its previous life, Turbod was the second largest city in Balochistan. In its previous life, Turbod had a population of over 200,000, and if you include the surrounding areas, the population even exceeded 300,000 to 400,000.

Therefore, if a reservoir could be built next to Turbod, its water volume would be more than enough to support the water needs of a city.

However, the Khanate of Qarat is unlikely to accept this suggestion from East Africa, since Turbod is an important economic center for the Khanate of Qarat.

Sivag saw this very clearly, saying, "Although the Third Reservoir Area involves political issues, we are not entirely powerless to intervene."

"Perhaps the Khanate of Qarat will not allow us to build a reservoir specifically to provide water for Gwadar Port, but cooperation between the two countries in development is very feasible."

“If a large reservoir could be built and shared with their Tulbod for use, it would also be a good thing for the Karat Khanate.”

"After all, they don't have the capability to build such a modern, high-standard reservoir. Without our help, they can only watch helplessly as water resources are wasted."

Watson did not deny this, but he said, "While the third reservoir is very tempting, from a political point of view, there is no need to build it if we in East Africa do not have absolute control over it."

"The No. 2 reservoir can basically meet most of Gwadar's needs. In addition to the local groundwater resources and the No. 1 reservoir area, as long as the population of Gwadar is controlled, that is, maintained at a scale of 40,000 to 50,000 people, there should be no problem."

"However, I don't think Gwadar Port needs that many people. We in East Africa don't need to undertake economic, agricultural, or industrial development tasks in Gwadar Port; it's entirely for military purposes."

"At most, it will provide berthing services for imperial merchant ships in the future, but the number of such merchant ships is estimated to be small. After all, from the Gulf of Aden or the Persian Gulf to the Strait of Malacca, unless there is an emergency, it is unlikely that merchant ships will be able to berth here."

At this point, Sivag mentioned something: "Mr. Watson makes a lot of sense, but I think the Imperial Government may not be satisfied with just this little bit of the construction of Gwadar."

"The Empire attaches great importance to Gwadar, especially the recent Gwadar Port Airport. This airport is quite large, and it will also open up future air routes to the Far Eastern Empire."

"Besides, since we can connect with 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 along the Indian Ocean coast in the future."

Watson was not very optimistic about this, saying, "The Empire does attach great importance to Gwadar, that's an objective fact, but it's basically unrealistic for Gwadar to become a shipping hub. After all, the Empire has also built airports in Qatar and other Persian Gulf coastal areas, and the conditions are much better than in Gwadar."

"Moreover, the capacity of airplanes is far less than that of railways, highways, and sea transport, and their economic benefits are not high, unless they are used to transport high-value, high-profit goods, such as medicines, weapons, or high-tech equipment."

"However, if these goods are not time-sensitive, sea and land transportation can meet the needs, and air transport is not necessary."

At this moment, Sivag said meaningfully, "Mr. Watson, you are right, but think about the situation in the Far Eastern Empire now. Don't they happen to have a certain need for some of the goods you just mentioned, especially medicine?"

Sivag's words suddenly enlightened Watson. Yes! He was worried about the shipping problem, but now the Far Eastern Empire clearly had a great need for some of the goods he mentioned. After all, the Far Eastern Empire's industry and technology were backward, and it was also facing the threat of war.

This means that there is a huge demand for medicines and weapons.

(End of this chapter)