Chapter 1546 - 55: An Important Position

Chapter 1546: Chapter 55: An Important Position

The natural conditions of the Great Lakes Region were considered top-tier during the agricultural era, evident in the dense distribution of several kingdoms from the last century. Apart from the coastal areas, the kingdoms in the Great Lakes Region represented the highest degree of political civilization in East Africa.

Of course, although conditions in the Great Lakes Region are good, they are not without drawbacks. The area is full of water bodies and tropical jungles, with a climate resembling that of the ancient Far East Empire’s Jing Chu region.

Therefore, to effectively utilize the local natural conditions, a significant scale of population and civilization is required, which the indigenous kingdoms evidently could not achieve.

This also explains why the Great Lakes Region can become the area with the highest unit grain yield in East Africa. Just considering the soil, the abundance of swamps and seasonal flooded lands contribute to the distribution of dark grey clays.

These poorly-drained lowlands and wetlands facilitate the rapid accumulation of organic matter. Due to the presence of standing water and high altitude, as well as relatively low temperatures, the decomposition rate is slow.

Therefore, the land surrounding the Great Lakes Region can be seen as East Africa’s black soil, placing the soil fertility in the top tier in East Africa. More importantly, the Great Lakes Region is expansive, which is one of the key reasons it has become an essential grain-producing area in East Africa.

Especially in the areas with black clay soil, they are most suitable for the growth of rice crops, and in East Africa, effective water drainage projects can ensure harvests are secure against drought and flood.

East Africa itself was one of the infrastructure giants from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. The Great Lakes Region has long been an important grain production base, so East Africa’s water management infrastructure construction in this area is well-recognized.

However, the North Lake Province has already undergone policy adjustments, shifting from merely guaranteeing grain production to balancing agriculture and industry.

Governor Manfred said, "Your Majesty, our province’s two industrial zones are already under accelerated construction, and once completed, they will form two major industrial clusters, further driving regional economic development."

The North Lake Province’s ability to construct two industrial zones owes much to its energy distribution. The northern part of the province is rich in oil, so industries related to oil are arranged around there. Meanwhile, the southern part, rich in hydropower resources and with convenient transportation, including the relatively developed capital city, Kampala, is concentrated in the south.

"In recent years, our province has built several large hydropower stations, fully utilizing the Nile River and its tributaries’ hydroelectric resources to support energy-intensive industries such as oil refining, metallurgy, electrolytic aluminum, and chemical sectors."

If we consider the Great Lake, known in previous eras as Lake Victoria, to be the upstream of the Nile River, then the entire Great Lakes Region belongs to the Nile River Basin.

The North Lake Province is flanked by mountains, and its northern part serves as a transitional zone between the East African Plateau and the Nile River Basin, with significant elevation differences, giving it immense potential for hydropower development.

So, from an energy perspective, the North Lake Province has inherent advantages in developing industries. Besides coal, the reserves of natural gas and oil are also sizable, and combined with hydropower development, this results in relatively low electricity costs for the North Lake Province.

However, the North Lake Province’s oil resources mainly supply the entire nation, as the province’s oil fields currently serve as East Africa’s most important oil production area. Although the western coastal and northern Nile River Basin areas also have rich oil resources, they have yet to be effectively developed and utilized.

East Africa, or rather Ernst himself, shows little enthusiasm for developing the latter two regions now, as East Africa already has stable overseas oil supply channels, which diminishes the interest in further developing domestic oil resources.

The domestic oil production is reasonably controlled within a certain range primarily to ensure that, in extreme circumstances, domestic oil supply will not be troubled by overseas blockades.

In practice, however, no country can effectively impose a blockade on East Africa, so this possibility can be largely ignored.

East Africa’s current overseas oil imports primarily follow three routes corresponding to America, Europe, and Southeast Asia. America mainly includes exports from the United States, Canada, and Venezuela in the Three Kingdoms. In Europe, it involves exports from the Austria-Hungary Empire and Romania, while Southeast Asia connects with its own East Kalimantan colony.

Nowadays, East Africa’s total oil imports from Europe show a yearly decreasing trend, as many European countries are short on oil, especially Germany. Under such circumstances, oil from the Austria-Hungary Empire tends to be consumed domestically or exported to Germany, while Romanian oil is mainly purchased by Germany.

As for Russia, formerly Europe’s largest oil producer, East Africa has long withdrawn, and due to war, Russia’s oil field capacities have not yet returned to pre-World War levels.

In sum, East Africa’s oil imports from the European Region are nearing conclusion. Eventually, this line, previously the easiest to cut off for East Africa, would have to pass through the British-controlled Suez Canal.

In America, the United States has maintained a relatively stable oil export relationship with East Africa, while the proportions from Canada and Venezuela continue to grow.

Finally, East Africa’s own East Kalimantan colony, which is basically the previous era’s Indonesian oil fields, utilizes its resources effectively. Additionally, the Northern Kalimantan colony under British control has increased oil extraction, with a large portion sold to East Africa and countries like Germany, as Britain cannot fully consume it itself.