The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 963: Chapter 720: Eight Years of Construction, Begin!

After determining all the aspects of canal construction, the next most pressing issue was where would the workers for the construction come from?

During the construction of Germany’s Kiel Canal, nearly 90,000 workers were employed, and it was expected that even more would be needed for the construction of the Lake Eyre Canal.

If the entire Lake Eyre Canal were to be divided into three sections and constructed simultaneously, the good news was that the construction time could be significantly reduced. The bad news was that more workers would be needed.

mmigrants, these 150,000 households were certainly going to be carefully chosen, with a priority given to those of British descent.

By the time the canal construction was finished, they would be able to settle around the canal, getting ready for the future development of the Great Basin.

Of course, these were only the workers prepared for the excavation of the canal. Other construction companies would handle the construction of related facilities for the canal.

Overall, the canal project was immense, and even if it were to be divided into three sections built simultaneously, it would be impossible to complete it without five to eight years’ time.

Moreover, with the future development of ships in terms of weight and size, it was possible that the canal might need to be widened yet again in a new round of expansion, just like what the Germans did with the Kiel Canal.

However, this was a problem for future monarchs to consider. For now, based on the design plans, there would be no need to widen the Lake Eyre Canal for the next two or three decades.

The Lake Eyre Canal was just one aspect of the construction plans. Though very important, it was certainly not the entirety of the plans.

After discussing the construction plan for Lake Eyre, the government then initiated other key construction projects, and several were launched at once.

Among these key construction projects, the construction of transportation infrastructure was definitely a crucial component.

It is worth mentioning that among the transportation constructions, there was a term that was quite familiar, which was the high-speed highways that were expected to be first built in the Australian region.

be able to reach them, but to maintain such exaggerated speeds for long periods was a significant challenge for their construction.

The initial intent behind designing the high-speed highways was to increase traffic efficiency; therefore, minimizing the likelihood of car breakdowns was essential.

Apart from highways, the construction of railways and ordinary highways was also an important part of the transportation projects.

The importance of road construction was always high in every era, and it was often a financial burden for governments to undertake.

Despite the scale of key construction projects proposed by Australasia, most of the construction funds weren’t considerable.

However, the transportation construction, a silent devourer of funds, accounted for 21% of the total investment, taking up a budget of 63 million Australian Dollars.

But transportation construction was definitely not a futile effort. Once all road constructions were completed, the economy of Australasia would experience significant growth.

Of course, road construction wasn’t going to be completed solely by the government. Specific road construction would be divided into main, secondary, ordinary, and rural roads for tender, contracted to various civilian capitals.

Among many constructions, there was one related to the canal, which was the construction of hydropower generation facilities on the canal.

As previously mentioned, Lake Eyre was more than ten meters below sea level, and sea water would naturally flow into it.

Such tremendous kinetic energy couldn’t possibly be wasted, especially when compared to the relatively cleaner hydropower generation.

The regions most suitable for the construction of hydropower stations are first, at the junction between North Lake Eyre and South Lake Eyre, and second, at the connection between Lake Torrens and Spencer Gulf.

One is the kinetic energy from the large influx of sea water into Lake Eyre, and the other is the kinetic energy from the sea water entering the Torrens Bay, both of which can generate a considerable amount of electricity.

The construction of the hydropower station and the canal was almost simultaneous, and the completed hydropower station will also be part of the canal facilities, increasing the likelihood of the canal becoming profitable.

A variety of construction plans were consolidated into the “Eight-Year Plan,” which even included the costly Lake Eyre Canal.

Honestly, only Australasia now could propose such a vast construction project.

Such a huge project with a total cost close to 600 million Australian Dollars, and a construction time nearing eight years, would not be envisioned by other countries unless it was a time of severe crisis.

Although eight years might not change a country, it can fundamentally change a term of government. It is only in a true monarchic superpower like Australasia that there is no need to worry about a change of the highest decision-maker within an eight-year span.

‘s first and second places is often not so harmonious. What does it mean to be the world’s second? It means just a step away from being the world hegemon.

Let the Frenchmen shoulder this burdensome title. If it weren’t for the fourth power being the Island Nation, Arthur would have even been willing to let Australasia become the fourth great power.

Following the downfall of the United States, the order acknowledged by Europe became Britain, France, Australia, the Island Nation, Russia, Italy, Germany, and Austria.

This ranking takes into account population, economy, industry, and other factors, in addition to the military strength of the countries.

Germany and the Austrian Empire’s place within these ranks is no exception, as both countries have substantial industry and populations, maintaining their status as powers is not a problem.

Plus, more than a decade has passed since World War I, and although it’s not enough time to free Germany and Austria from various limitations, they still maintain certain diplomatic rights.

Currently, both countries have joined the World Alliance, which has truly become an international organization with the participation of all the powers.

Due to the impact of this economic crisis, Australasia has understood the great harm brought by excess production.

Therefore, the Eight-Year Plan doesn’t place too much emphasis on industry, only planning investment in a large steel factory including a steel-making plant, a coke plant, a slag steel plant, an iron-making plant, a mining facility, and other ancillary facilities, expected to increase the annual iron production output by 750,000 tons and steel production by 450,000 tons.

With the addition of two kingdoms and one republic on the west coast of the United States, Australasian industrial products can be sold to even more regions.

However, the increase in steel production will be limited to such an extent for the time being, unless there is genuinely enough market demand. Otherwise, there will be stable growth over the years without substantial increases.

Once the Great Lakes Industrial Area becomes independent, it is believed that a plethora of American industrial products will soon flood Europe.

Many of these industrial products will be used to offset debt, which seems like a boon for European Nations but in reality hinders their industrial development.

rrent mainstream coal-fired power plants, the concern for Australasia is primarily environmental pollution.

It is for this reason, not all the power plants being built can be coal-fired.

The most mainstream ones are hydroelectric and coal-fired power plants, and Australasia adopts a rather straightforward approach.

Hydroelectric power stations are built wherever feasible, and coal-fired power stations are established in regions where hydroelectric facilities are not an option.