China's overland Silk Road and Maritime Silk Road Thread

taxiya

Brigadier
Registered Member
If more rails are built to connect Ethiopia to the rest of Western African countries, than goods and freights can be sent by land without having ships going around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa to save fuel cost and money.
You are envisioning a trans-Africa railway. I think it is well underway, but not via Ethiopia at this moment.

Here is a news piece about the ongoing activity
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. It is to upgrade the existing TAZARA (Tanzania-Zambia railway, a Chinese donated/built line in 1970s) and extend to Angola's Atlantic coast via Congo. The Angola-Congo section in Angola was just upgraded from the colonial narrow gauge to standard gauge. What is left is the Congo section.
 

taxiya

Brigadier
Registered Member
That will take some time. But the connection with Kenya, where China is building a railway to the same specification, is much nearer.
I see the "Ethiopia-Kenya-Tanzania" line being a east African vertical trunk line similar to what is in China "Beijing-Shang" line.

In the end, if Africa can maintain domestic and international stability they will have a railway web just like China has. That is going to make an African miracle (industrialization and development) just like the previous many miracles.

The prosperous future of Africa is in the hands of Africans if they are determined and China is there to assist.
 

Jeff Head

General
Registered Member
The prosperous future of Africa is in the hands of Africans if they are determined and China is there to assist.
LOTS and lots of orruption to seed through still and in most of the countries.

China (or anyone else) would ahve to deal wth that, and it is a hard thing to deal with in order for the people themselves to start benefitting from the prgress and then sustain it.

Typically what happens is that warlords and tribnes rise up and take control and filter all the priofits away...until a civil war or underground rebeliion comes along and squanders any hope of a chance in rivers of blood.

Sad thing, but the truth in Africa for hundreds of years.

Not saying it annot happen...just poining out the truth of what goes on there in most countries.

Typically only very oppressive and strong regimes have been able to force any stability...but then there goes all of the "prosperty" fr the people.
 

Equation

Lieutenant General
LOTS and lots of orruption to seed through still and in most of the countries.

China (or anyone else) would ahve to deal wth that, and it is a hard thing to deal with in order for the people themselves to start benefitting from the prgress and then sustain it.

Typically what happens is that warlords and tribnes rise up and take control and filter all the priofits away...until a civil war or underground rebeliion comes along and squanders any hope of a chance in rivers of blood.

Sad thing, but the truth in Africa for hundreds of years.

Not saying it annot happen...just poining out the truth of what goes on there in most countries.

Typically only very oppressive and strong regimes have been able to force any stability...but then there goes all of the "prosperty" fr the people.

True, sounds like the history of early 20th century China before Communism finally got it together and stabilize, and now China became the 2nd biggest economy in the world. I have hope for Africa and for it's citizens.
 

delft

Brigadier
They should entertain the idea of a passenger service for train enthusiasts.A long train trip lasting 13 days and crossing several borders certainly appeals to me.For me its the actual trip rather than the end destination that is my holiday.
An article in my Dutch newspaper I referred to above mentioned that there is such a passenger line but that as yet few people take the opportunity.
 

delft

Brigadier
LOTS and lots of orruption to seed through still and in most of the countries.

China (or anyone else) would ahve to deal wth that, and it is a hard thing to deal with in order for the people themselves to start benefitting from the prgress and then sustain it.

Typically what happens is that warlords and tribnes rise up and take control and filter all the priofits away...until a civil war or underground rebeliion comes along and squanders any hope of a chance in rivers of blood.

Sad thing, but the truth in Africa for hundreds of years.

Not saying it annot happen...just poining out the truth of what goes on there in most countries.

Typically only very oppressive and strong regimes have been able to force any stability...but then there goes all of the "prosperty" fr the people.
Not hundreds of years. But colonial powers did the best they could to leave behind corrupt regimes when they left because it left more opportunities to continue exploiting the country. Kenya is notorious in this respect but look also to India and Pakistan. Recently there are of course Afghanistan and Iraq.
 
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