The Trans-African Railroad Project

[Hereno]

The Trans-African Railroad

[Private]

Umar was determined to live up to the reputation of his ancestors in the scale of his civic projects. To these ends, a great railroad construction project was to connect east and west Africa. The twenty separate railroad lines would go through Sudan and central Africa to the city of Yaoundé, which would become a trading Mecca. Several smaller port cities would handle the various cargo. They would be built by natives who were eager to get in on the ground floor of the project, and the central Africans quickly followed suit, building up large rest stops and road systems alongside the tracks, and bringing much wealth to the Egyptians.

At least, that was the plan.

For now, fat had to be cut from the rapidly-expanding Jamahiriya. Egyptian troops were recalled from Ethiopia entirely and rather quickly, being reassigned to guard central African territories and the railroad construction project and its workers. Soon to be numbering in the hundreds of thousands, it would be very much necessary to maintain a strong presence throughout the long stretch of landscape.

[Private: to Spain and France (separately)]

Greetings. I intend to inform you that the Egyptian military will begin protecting land near current colonies of yours in eastern Africa. In order to assure you that there are no sneak attacks or other funny business coming your way, I have decided to send this letter personally and sign it myself. And, on behalf of Egypt, I want to inform you of my hope that cooperation can ensure peaceful co-existence between us and yourselves on the African continent. In the event that you're interested, substantial supplies can be allocated to building infrastructure necessary to connect your settlements with ours, thus ensuring a stream of trade that we can all enjoy from our African silk road.

Best wishes,
Umar Abdullah bin Zaid
Supreme General of the Afro-Arab Jamahiriya of Egypt

[ooc: 1/5]

[Mogar]

:Private Reply:

 

"We would also like connect our own rail systems within West Africa to yours, to further intergrate the African continent and as an display of cooperation with African nations."

[Hereno]

The initial trek across Africa was nearing completion, and the protected areas alongside much of the railroad had been set up, albeit haphazardly and with temporary fortifications. Railroader teams, paid generously by the Jamahiriya, would set out across the eastern Sahara and begin building the tracks through to Sudan. Passing through several major areas and in several segments, the train would serve to greatly revitalize certain rather impoverished areas within the African mainland.

The railroad would necessarily have to be built primarily in one direction from Egypt out, as the industrial capacity of the areas were comparatively minimal and transporting resources across large distanced was a job for trains. By completing each section of the track in nodules at major cities, it would be possible to greatly speed up the production of the tracks by making use of the railroad itself to deliver supplies and fresh teams of workers.

Meanwhile, in Cairo, Umar himself had authorized additional troops to be sent on a larger second convoy out to the eastern African province and in addition to guard the border with France. The instability of the government called their ability to defend themselves into question, and also presented a threat to the Egyptian operations via raids which had gotten worse as news of the Egyptian presence in central Africa enticed local raiders. However, the long distance would mean that armor, artillery, and the rest would be largely reserved for Egypt proper until the project was complete, and logistics reasons would limit the amount of troops who could make the trek across Africa safely. By the time the railroad to Sudan was built, only perhaps 20,000 troops defended the entire protectorate area and additional west-central African province.

[ooc: 2/5]

Edited September 21, 2014 by Hereno

[Hereno]

Significant progress has been made on the railroad, and it is nearing completion. As a result, the military presence along the route has been significantly increased, and trade throughout central Africa has increased substantially. Not only have the Egyptians provided protection for their own assets, but their presence in the regions has contributed significantly to their stability and economic growth.

In the Cameroonian territory, progress is being made on developing the seaports. Substantial road networks have been built, along with several integral military complexes. Industrialization of the region has made it into somewhat of a Jewel on the central/western African continent.

[OOC: 3/5]