The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 661 - 502: Surpass France in Four Years, Catch Up with Britain in Eight Years (Asking for Monthly Tickets!)_2

Australasia’s environment is somewhat unique, with plenty of energy resources but a severe shortage of water resources.

Especially after gaining control of the oil in the Persian Gulf region, the prices of fuel and petroleum products in Australasia have been significantly reduced, allowing people to squander gasoline and diesel without any concern for environmental protection laws to restrict fuel vehicles.

However, water resources have always been a problem in Australasia and will become more apparent with the growth of the population.

In order to meet the water demand after the future population explosion, it is necessary to build more reservoirs and develop a certain number of hydropower stations based on these reservoirs.

Firstly, the new hydropower stations can generate more clean energy, which is beneficial to the protection of the environment.

Secondly, the new reservoirs can ensure the water supply of Australasia. Before the North Water South Transfer project starts and is completed in New Guinea, the water demand of Australasia relies on these reservoirs.

Even in the Four-Year Plan, the construction of heavy industry, civil industry, and various road construction all require a large amount of water resources, and irrigation for agriculture and pastoral industry as well as domestic water resources are also crucial. It is not possible without sufficient water reserves.

Particularly for large cities, reservoirs must be built - and built to be more robust and durable.

Looking at the world, the development potential of Australasia is definitely among the best. Although the French have reclaimed Alsace and Lorraine, more than a dozen provinces in the northeast of France, especially the native land, were occupied by Germans at the outset of the war and suffered significant damage during the lengthy conflict.

Most of these occupied areas are vital mining regions, steel and textile centers, and have a significant standing in the overall French industry.

After these areas were destroyed, the French took back many factory equipments from Germany, but France’s industrial output in 1918 was only 70% of what it was in 1914 before the war, especially as steel production suffered considerable damage.

Steel production output decreased from 4.69 million tons in 1913 to 1.8 million tons in 1918, which is just half of the current annual steel output of Australasia, showing how severe the war’s impact on French industry was.

Even if the French still had other industries, the massive losses suffered by the French steel industry meant that France’s industry might even be inferior to Australasia.

If the next phase for Australasia is a lengthy development period, the French will need a long recovery time.

Unlike the French, the British industry was hardly affected and even grew significantly during the war.

In 1914, British steel production output was 7.96 million tons, and by 1918 it had grown to 9.69 million tons, a rapid growth.

The lack of sufficient labor force is bound to have an impact on the economy and industry.

This is also an excellent opportunity for Australasia to surpass other countries, and even after the first four-year plan is completed, to raise the industrial level of Australasia to the world’s fourth, only second to the United States, Britain, and Germany.

Here is a question: Where are the Russians, who used to have a decent industrial scale?

Although Arthur wants to place Russia in the ranks of industrial and economic powers, looking at the intelligence reports from intelligence personnel, Russia’s overall situation is already quite terrible.

This is not only about Tsarist or Soviet Russia, but the terrible situation refers to the entire Russia.

Before the war, Russia did have a certain level of industrial development. Although not high, steel production in 1913 could still maintain around 4.23 million tons, which was worthy of its status as the fourth-ranked power.

However, since the war began, the Russian industry has been severely impacted. First, the Germans occupied large areas of the Industrial Zone, followed by revolutions, civil wars, and the influenza that caused millions of deaths.

This has caused a massive blow to Russia’s industrial level, with steel production dropping from 4.23 million tons in 1913 to just 400,000 tons last year.

Although this figure is only an estimate by intelligence personnel and may differ from the actual situation somewhat.

However, the error would not be too large, which also means that Russia’s industry has experienced a devastating blow.

On the positive side, Russia can still maintain the scale of a major power based on its population.

But, if we put it negatively, apart from its current large population, Russia has almost nothing in common with other powerful nations, and it is still unclear who the country’s highest authority belongs to.

However, this is also good news for Australasia, as the excessive darkness in Russia has caused many Russian immigrants to abandon their nostalgia and confidence in their homeland and instead support the Australasian government.

Facing the chaotic domestic environment in Russia, the Russian people began to believe and identify with Australasia’s political environment as the best. After all, it was this political environment that allowed Australasia to grow into a middle power within less than 20 years.

The growing strength of Australasia and the decline of Russia have made these Russian immigrants very wise in knowing which side to choose.

Even before the Australasian government had a chance to influence these immigrants, they had already started declaring themselves as Australasians, as if admitting they were Russians would cause them to lose face.