The Rise Of Australasia

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.

As for the source of these workers, Arthur had already laid out a basic plan. The recently collapsed United States actually had a large number of unemployed workers. These workers were not only an excellent source of immigrants but also potential labor for the construction of the Lake Eyre Canal.

By building the Lake Eyre Canal, a large number of unemployed people from the eastern United States could be attracted, and from among these, suitable migrants could be selected to come to Australasia with their families.

The construction of the Lake Eyre Canal was expected to employ 150,000 workers, which also meant that 150,000 households would come to Australasia.

Even if each household only had 3 to 4 members, 150,000 households would represent an immigration of more than 500,000 people.

Given Arthur's meticulous selection criteria for immigrants, 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.

Of course, the high-speed highways of the present had large differences from those 100 years later. Previously mentioned, current vehicles had corresponding speed limits in urban and suburban areas.

With the development of technology, the current speed of cars had already increased to well beyond those limits.

But whether in urban areas or the suburbs, the highest speed limit was only 60 kilometers per hour, which greatly limited the traffic efficiency of cars.

After discussion by the Transportation Department, they decided to keep the urban speed limits unchanged for now, but made some adjustments to the suburban speed limits.

Of course, the biggest change was the high-speed highways proposed by the Transportation Department.

High-speed highways were naturally designed for high-speed travel. The highways of the present weren't as complex as those of the future; they were simply wider and smoother roads.

The first batch of high-speed highways in Australasia was going to be constructed primarily in the Australian region and planned to be built as circular highways around the island to enhance the efficiency of car travel.

The speed limit on the high-speed highways was expected to be raised to 90 kilometers per hour, with some particularly flat areas going up to 100 kilometers per hour, which was about the maximum speed that current cars could support.

As for speeds over 100 kilometers per hour, current cars might 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.

The publication of this comprehensive eight-year construction plan immediately shocked not just the whole of Australasia, but the entire world.

A massive construction plan involving a total cost of 570 million Australian Dollars, the mobilization of over 700,000 laborers, impacting dozens of industries, and benefiting the entire Australasian region is the largest and most costly construction in the nation's history.

Although the Australian Dollar had depreciated quite a bit, 570 million Australian Dollars was still an unimaginably large figure for most countries.

This also firmly entrenched Austalasia's position as the third great power, with Britain, France, and Australia now referred to as the world's three major powers.

Of course, Arthur had a hand in such public opinion. In truth, when it comes to comprehensive national strength, Australasia was clearly not weaker than France, and rightfully could contest for the world's second place.

However, the relationship between the world'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.

However, the allure of American industry is undeniable. The industrial inheritance left behind by a once first-ranked industrial superpower is irresistible, even to the British Empire.

Australasia's industry must also keep an eye on the status of American industry, as it's clearly more important to maintain relative stability.

Besides canals, transportation, and steel production, the Eight-Year Plan emphasizes the construction of power plants and the expansion of the power grid.

With the progress of technology, electricity has entered homes as an indispensable part of everyday life.

As one of the great powers, Australasia is also among the countries with the most widespread electricity coverage.

The annual electricity consumption in Australasia is continuously rising, not just due to factory use but also the significant increase in civilian demand.

Building more power plants is necessary in order to ensure that power generation exceeds consumption, and that electricity is adequately supplied to people in all regions of the country.

After all, Australasia isn't running out of coal mines, and for the current 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. Find more to read at My Virtual Library Empire

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