Chapter 1207 Falta New District
Mars also said with memories: "As a result, we were happy for less than a day before we discovered the huge gap between reality and imagination, even though we were assigned to Benguela City , but it was not the already developed urban area of Benguela at that time.”
“It was the new district of Falta built by the city of Benguela. When we arrived at the new district of Falta, we were dumbfounded. Mud and a pile of building materials brought from the old city of Benguela, there was nothing in the entire new Falta area."
"Our hearts were half cold at that time, and those who didn't know it thought we were being exiled. ”
In fact, when Anton and Mars first arrived in Falta New Area, it was indeed the same as being exiled. Although they were from the countryside in central East Africa, Salzburg Province was a famous land of plenty in East Africa. .
Even in rural areas, it can be said to have a beautiful environment and rich products. At that time, Falta New District had just been established, and the conditions could be said to be very harsh.
Anton said: "But no one would have thought that in just a few years, Falta New District would develop to what it is today. Maybe Benguela City can return to the second city on the west coast with Falta New District. "
Benguela was once the second largest port city on the west coast of East Africa, but with the rise of Cabinda and Lobito, it has dropped to fourth place, behind Luanda, Cabinda, After Lobito, the fifth city is Alexandria.
The relationship between the cities of Lobito and Benguela is similar to Cabinda and Luanda. Lobito and Cabinda focus on the economy, while Benguela and Luanda focus on politics and military.
East Africa likes this layout very much, which can be seen from the capital city of Rhine and the central economic center of New Frankfurt, as well as the earlier city of Dar es Salaam and the first town.
Of course, this layout is actually related to the history of East Africa. Benguela was originally one of the first areas developed by the Portuguese. East Africa later inherited the city of Benguela, so it still chose Benguela as the regional center, while Lobito was the center of East Africa. Developed new town.
The same is true for the relationship between Luanda and Cabinda. Although Cabinda and Lobito were also big cities in Angola in their previous lives, when East Africa occupied these areas, the Portuguese had not yet come to control the two places. for development.
Take Lobito as an example. In the previous life, the Portuguese developed Lobito at the beginning of the 20th century, after the completion of the Benguela Railway. The emergence of East Africa greatly compressed this time. At the end of the 19th century, Lobito was developed. Cities such as Bito, Cabinda and Alexandria appeared in advance as they were included in the East African territory.
The attitudes of the East African and Portuguese governments towards Angola are obviously different. After all, the moment Angola was included in the territory of East Africa, it was designed and built according to local standards.
At that time, the east coast economy of East Africa was already quite large, so from the perspective of balanced and coordinated economic development across the country and the development of Atlantic trade, it was urgent to build the west coast into a new pillar of East Africa's economic development.
Otherwise, the West Coast, which was already lagging behind the East Coast, would have more difficulty catching up with the East Coast in the future. Therefore, in the last decade of the 19th century, a large number of new towns emerged on the West Coast.
These towns were planned and constructed by the East African government, and most of them were designed and planned in advance, which also reflected the East African government's confidence in the country's economy at that time.
And this is also true. Before the outbreak of World War I, in less than two decades, the economy on the west coast of East Africa had risen rapidly.
Benguela, a long-established city founded by Portugal, has also successfully completed its transformation driven by the economy of East Africa. Today, Benguela is divided into two parts. In addition to the old city, a new city has also been built in the southwest. New District.
The New District built the Falta Port around the Falta Bay and named it the Falta New District. It has become the fastest growing area in Benguela City in recent years. This is relatively rare in urban planning in East Africa, because the Falta New District and the old city of Benguela are not adjacent to each other, which is somewhat similar to the relationship between Lanzhou City and the New District in the Far East Empire in the previous life.
The reason for this urban development pattern is also limited by natural conditions. The environmental carrying capacity of Benguela City has an upper limit. Its climate is relatively dry and the ecological environment is fragile, so it is not suitable. Overexploitation.
So the separation of Falta New District and Benguela City has certain ecological considerations. Furthermore, and more importantly, the port resources in East Africa are limited, so in order to make full use of and develop these ports, France There will be no resistance to the construction of Erta New District.
After all, as a natural resource, a natural port is located wherever it is. Even if Falta New District is not established, there may be another town here in East Africa.
The reason why it is regarded as a new district of Benguela City rather than developed separately is because the natural environment of Falta New District is much worse than that of Benguela.
Although the climate is relatively arid, Benguela also has large areas of green space, forests, rivers and other resources, while Falta New District and its surroundings are completely a large area of Gobi and sparse grassland. It is said that grassland has enhanced the natural conditions of Falta New District. It is true. The situation is actually slightly stronger than the desert, similar to the Kalahari Desert in the interior of East Africa.
The New District of Falta is not barren, but the extremely limited vegetation is better than nothing. At least if you look at the vegetation in the past, you can count it with your hands. The vegetation in the New District of Falta is scattered and completely depends on the rare precipitation of the Atlantic Ocean. and heavy fog, as well as the tenacious vitality of drought-resistant plants.
From this, we can imagine the harsh conditions at the beginning of the construction of Falta New District. Anton and Mars, who were assigned to Falta New District at that time, naturally felt sad in their hearts. , with such natural conditions it is better to farm in my hometown!
Of course, Anton and Mars will definitely not think so now, because Falta New District is no longer what it used to be.
Anton said: "Falta's port conditions are a huge advantage, so the country must have seen this, so the construction of Falta New District has been a key provincial project from the beginning."
"Furthermore, it is only twelve kilometers away from the old town of Benguela. Drinking water, daily necessities, etc. are relatively dependent on the old town. This is probably the reason why Falta New District did not set up a separate city at the beginning, but as the city of Benguela. Part of the development. ”
Although there are groundwater resources that can be exploited in Falta New District, with the growth of population, only early water problems can be solved. Now the main water source is transported from the old city and other water sources through water pipelines. come over.
Other resources are provided by Benguela City, which is particularly important for the early development of Falta New District. Therefore, it is impossible for Falta New District to establish a separate city, which would require more construction costs.
The city of Benguela also needs the land and port resources of the Falta New District to seek further economic development. As an important node for the East African Railway to connect the Atlantic trade, although the natural environment of the Falta Port is relatively poor, But it is worth the investment of the East African government.
The Falta New District can be said to be a new city that emerged under the witness of Anton and Mars. As the first generation residents, they naturally have different feelings about this place.
Anton said: "It is estimated that by the end of the European war, Falta New District and the old city will be closer, with more and more buildings along both sides of the road, and Falta New District is developing further north. The faster we go, maybe when we are old, we can still see the new area of Falta integrated with the old city!”
This is not without precedent, such as Soga City, a former technology city in East Africa. After the capital of East Africa was moved to Rhine City, it was completely integrated with Dar es Salaam within a few years.
Of course, there is still a big gap between Benguela and Dar es Salaam. The latter has been the largest city in East Africa for many years. With the rapid development of so many cities in East Africa, it is still To be able to maintain this status, it is obvious that Dar es Salaam has a very deep heritage, which is what Benguela lacks, so Anton did not speak too highly.
(End of this chapter)