Siize Punabantu
Transportation & Telecommunications
The Africa Grand is conceptually considered the spine, backbone and nervous system of the continent firing shared productivity, information and technology back and forth throughout the continent like synapses. Not only will the Africa Grand offer the shortest trade routes between eastern and southern hemisphere, in order to be competitive it will also offer a fast towing service for large commercial cargo vessels. Drawing on the concept of electrically driven trains and trams the Africa Grand will have electrically driven tug boats powered by the electricity generated by the canal itself. This will allow commercial ships in the canal to switch to the canal’s power thereby reducing fuel costs while moving through the canal. As technology evolves so too will the canal itself.
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| Large ships moving through the Africa Grand may use a towing option |
With Africa fixed firmly between the Americas and the Far East on the East-West divide, and Cape Town to Europe on the North–South divide the Africa Grand Hydro-electric Canal will most likely be one of the busiest and most lucrative transportation highway systems in the world. It will earn revenues from the movement of trains, cars, passengers, container ships, and cruise ships and planes landing on its airports. It will be designed to cover all major types of transportation including cutting edge transport such as an open source hyperloop system. First and most importantly will be the canal itself, which will be of a width wide enough to accommodate four of the world’s largest container ships side by side. However, this width is also mainly to support hydro-electric power generation all along the course of the canal which requires the movement of large amounts of water a proviso of the canal. The earth dug up for the Canal will be used to build and compact its walls which house infrastructure such as the hyperloop, pipelines and underground power lines. Secondly, the Canal will have two railway tracks on either side, two sets of tracks for high speed rail, while the other two are for heavy duty rail.
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| Africa Grand infrastructure concept |
Embedded in the Canal walls will also be a fiber optic telecommunications line, a pipeline for crude oil, refined oil, gas, and fresh water. The crude oil will flow to refineries situated along the length of the Canal which will in turn distribute electricity, broadband, petroleum and gas to all the member states of the African Union.
Airports
The canal will have airport hubs at several strategic sections with direct links to international airports. The high speed train, hyperloop and airports will have stations that are all interlinked on the Canal network.
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| Airports and air travel - important features of the Africa Grand |
Construction
Construction of the hydro-electric canal offers a major source of employment for people across Africa from all walks of life and all levels of education. The canal itself will be designed for rapid construction by being built using prefabrication techniques for structures such as bridges. Prior to excavation the tunnel structures will be built above ground then buried by the soil dug up from the canal. This will include the four hyperloop tubes and pipelines for fresh oil, gas, water, sea water, and sewage. In addition to this electricity supply lines and communications lines such as optic fibre will be laid. The surface of this will then be compacted in readiness for laying asphalt highway, the high speed railway and cargo railway lines. The main interior exercise will be earth moving work to dig the canal route.
Strategic Pre-requisite 3: Investment and Natural Resource Exploitation
The hydro-electrical canal resolves strategic prerequisite 1 and 2. These pave the way for strategic pre-requisite 3, which is the efficient and cost effective exploitation of Africa’s natural resources. One of the most important purposes of the Grand Canal is to open up the African interior for African governments to be able to maximise on the exploration for, exploitation of, processing of natural resources and manufacturing finished goods. It will remove the colonial legacy of landlocked countries by providing direct access to the oceans and seas for landlocked countries. For African countries which are not landlocked it will provide a back-door access to the most remote inland regions allowing development such as mining, agriculture and industry to reach these regions more quickly. It should also be noted that not only does the Africa Grand bring hydro-electric power to these remote regions, it also brings with it development hubs which provide transport allowing mining companies and industry to have quick and direct access to the power they need for productivity. The canal is basic route the will eventually pass through all African countries creating back access. Where necessary countries will be encouraged to develop sub-routes to the canal which reach deeper into their interior.
Having covered the guarantee that Africa will never face an energy deficit for its industries, and that power will be consistent, clean, efficient and cost effective. Also having covered the strategy for efficient and cost effective transportation strategic prerequisite 3 is the efficient and cost effective exploitation of Africa’s natural resources. These include all manner of minerals such as copper, gold, diamonds etc, fossil fuels such as oil and gas, and tourism. The Africa Grand is designed to accelerate the exploration for and exploitation of natural resources throughout Africa, in every African country. The Africa Grand will provide extractive industries with energy and bring transportation of raw materials to the doorstep of extractive industries. It will have industries at canal hubs for the processing of raw materials, industries for manufacturing and value addition including commodity markets. It will also have the Universities, colleges and research labs to ensure the best practice and cutting edge technology. The canal economic hubs will have the banks and financial institutions operating on the Africa Grand itself to finance this growth.
Strategic prerequisite 4: Manufacturing, Recycling and Value Addition
Raw materials that have been mined or extracted, fabrication of parts and so on can be moved using the cheapest source of transport on the canal to any African country. This will allow materials mined in Southern Africa to be shipped to East Africa for processing, moved to West Africa for fabrication, moved on to North Africa for integrated assembly and shipped to any part of the world (any type of manufacturing matrix can be applied) with minimum times for the movement of goods since the canal provides rapid links between any African country.
With the exploitation of natural resources efficiently and cost effectively covered strategic prerequisite 4, manufacturing and value addition, is facilitated. It is expected that the global geographic position of Africa to other continents, close proximity of natural resources, transportation routes within Africa and to the world, generation and provision of hydroelectric power and readily available work-force will make the Africa Grand hydro electric canal the most cost effective place to manufacture finished goods in the world with the potential of moving Africa from a net importer of finished goods to a net exporter as companies from all over the world set up manufacturing industries on the canal’s many hubs.
The African continent produces and has the capacity to produce a tremendous amount of natural resources such as copper, oil, steel, rubber and so on in raw form. Through prerequisite 3 the canal will now be at the doorstep of these primary industries providing transport for these raw materials directly to industries operating on hubs along the canal. Prerequisite 3 supports prerequisite 4 firing up manufacturing. The Africa Grand will be a manufacturing and value addition supply chain harbouring centres along its hub for value addition. Raw materials mined from the interior can be transported cost effectively on the canal to raw material processing hubs capable of processing and refining every type of raw material harvested from the interior of African nations. These refined raw materials can then be transported along the canal by plane, road, rail or by ship to any African country or part of the world using the shortest available route providing Africa with a comparative advantage in manufacturing based on Africa being situated at the heart of all seven continents which reduces transport and distribution costs of manufactured goods.
Raw materials from the African interior, be it steel, rubber, copper, platinum, diamonds, gold can be manufactured along the Africa Grand itself into finished goods from televisions to toasters to supply the continent and the rest of the world. The Grand Canal will use the African continents strategic centralised geographic position in the world as a comparative advantage and its access to raw materials from the African interior, strategic access to nearby refining and manufacturing hubs along the canal, powered by electricity cheaply generated by the Africa Grand itself to produce competitive finished goods. These hubs will also create countless jobs for people all over Africa from Port Elizabeth to Egypt.
Recycling
African governments will use the Africa Grand to ensure no resource on the continent will ever be wasted. The canal will support recycling plants where garbage from the entire African continent is shipped into the canal and deposited at recycling hubs for sorting, smelting, salvage and recovery of all manner of raw materials. The tremendous influx of garbage coming in for recycling from the entire continent and possibly around the world will end the use of landfill methods of garbage disposal improving environmental health and provide the critical mass that will make the recycling process a profitable venture.
Agriculture
The Grand Canal will have major water pipelines embedded in it dedicated to fresh water and salt water. The fresh water pipeline will ensure that every country in Africa is able to share it’s fresh water resources creating a continental Waste Management and Water Distribution System each African country can access. Even arid sectors of the continent will be able to have fresh water from anywhere on the continent at their doorstep. In areas where there is drought the canal can use its fresh water pipeline to move water from lakes and rivers from anywhere on the content where there is a surplus to anywhere there is a drought or deficit for household consumption, industry and irrigation. Similarly, solar power generated in these regions using arrays will be able to be shared with any African country through the canal infrastructure allowing for African countries to share and make use of their comparative advantage.
As mentioned earlier human waste produced by people living and working on the canal and inland cities will be collected and treated by the Africa Grand Corporation then the canal will be used to distribute this waste which has been treated and converted into fertilisers and its water content reclaimed will to be sold to the agriculture hubs of the Canal in any African country or region. This will ensure that agriculture on the continent can take place all year round with a guarantee that droughts and famine will never affect any nation in Africa. Hard to reach areas in the African interior, through the Canal will not only be guaranteed fresh water for agriculture, agricultural products once grown will have direct access to the canal for continent-wide and worldwide distribution either east or west, north or south using the shortest possible route provided by the canal’s harmonised port authority. This cuts down on transportation and distribution costs. The canal will also have major desalination plants for the production of salt and fresh water powered by solar panels, solar power dish arrays as well as the canal’s own power. Excess solar power will be fed into the hydro-electric grid for onward distribution. This is to demonstrate that arid regions can generate contribute and be a partner to regions blessed with natural access to fresh water thus allowing them to complement each other.
Africa Grand Canal Pipelines
The canal will incorporate major pipelines for:
1.
Crude Oil
2.
Petroleum
3.
Gas
4.
Fresh Water
5.
Salt Water
6.
Sewage
Gas, Crude Oil and Petroleum The crude oil pipeline will feed directly from oil rigs into the canal pipeline for direct distribution to oil refineries along the canal. Refined petroleum and diesel will then be delivered through the canal’s pipeline for collection at strategic depots throughout the continent. The Gas pipeline will direct raw gas to refineries where various types of gas to fit diverse uses for households and industry will be distributed throughout Africa through the canals gas pipeline network.
Salt, Fresh Water & Sewage Pipelines
The Three Gorges Dam holds back 19 billion cubic meters of water and is 181 meters high. Akosombo dam in Ghana covers 8,500 square kilometres and holds back 144 billion cubic meters of water. Crest length of about 700m, height of 134 meters, six generator units produce 128 MW. In comparison to these the Africa Grand will be designed to initially have the capacity to supply 1 million MW of electricity through its drop system accessible to all African countries in need of additional power, while surpluses will be exported to Europe and the Middle East.
The canal will have pipelines for salt and fresh water to manage the hydro-electric power plants, support the canal waterways and locks for increasing and lowering the elevation of ships. Therefore, the Africa Grand will earn an income from the supply of electricity and canal services from this water.
The Africa Grand is envisioned to supply water and sanitation services to the city or microcosm that becomes the Africa Grand canal itself that serves every African country. It will participate in the wholesale supply of treated water to households and industries located on the canal and cities in the interior of African countries through national water and sanitation companies. Its sewer pipeline will recover and purify water for re-use as well as collect and treat sewerage for conversion into fertilisers that will be distributed to agriculture hubs across Africa. By sharing comparative advantages no country in Africa is expected to be short of fresh water for households, industry and agriculture as African nations work to compliment each others efforts. This also ensures that disputes over water between nations do not arise as water constrained regions can share water with water starved areas through the canal’s pipelines, and areas starved of water may also share resources that are scarce with their partners through canal infrastructure. Similarly, by ensuring drought does not affect agriculture in any part of Africa, no African country is expected to suffer from famine or food shortages as the canal system which reach deep into the African interior will act to mitigate against this.
Desalinisation
In addition to this the canal will supply reverse osmosis desalinisation plants with salt water for the production of fresh water and manufacture of salt for industrial and household use. The Africa Grand will ensure that access to fresh water never becomes a problem that hinders the development of any African country or countries on other continents the Africa Grand may export fresh water to.
Strategic Prerequisite 5: Provision of efficient and Cost Effective Services
With manufacturing and value addition covered, strategic prerequisite 5, the efficient and cost effective provision of services is predisposed to work effectively.
Banking and Financial Services
The banking and financial services industry established on economic hubs on the Africa Grand are envisaged as becoming the some of the most lucrative in the world. Financial institutions will have to set-up shop close to the diverse industries on the Africa Grand in order to remain competitive. Through the Africa Grand not only is there access to growing industries that require consultancy, auditing and financial services there is also direct access to cities and populations across the entire continent. The volumes of human, commercial, investment, capacity for bulk transportation and industrial traffic on the canal will make its economic hubs one of the best destinations for international finance, banking and related services.
Public Services
The municipalities of every African country will have access to the provisions of the Grand Canal. The supply of water, national waste management, availability of power and numerous other benefits brought by the canal will be chanelled through commercial hubs able to support every city and district in each African country through connectivity.
Commodity Markets
The Grand Canal which will be a superhighway for resources will have commodity markets for the worldwide sale and distribution of raw materials extracted from the African interior allowing governments to ensure these natural resources are sold at real market prices that do not disadvantage African economies. The Africa Grand improves economies of scale allowing mining companies and other extractors to lower costs of production through the provision of electricity at reasonable prices and transportation being improved by the close proximity of the canal to extraction activities in the African interior.
Education, Exploration, Research and Development
Along its course the Africa Grand Hydro-electric Canal will have economic hubs with universities, research institutes and centres of learning. These academic centres will accommodate students from all over the continent and the world to learn and conduct research. Since there will be many industries situated along the Canal there will be a close relationship between the industries operating along the Canal and academic centres to ensure appropriate skills and access to practical training for students. Research will be conducted in mining, manufacturing and other disciplines to ensure that the industries along the Canal have access to cutting edge technology keeping businesses ahead of the competition.
Space Elevators
Looking into the future, it is envisaged that the Africa Grand will be able to participate in advanced industries such as those involved in space exploration. Using its resources it is envisaged that the Africa Grand will be able to provide the materials, technology and know how to build a space elevator as a hub on the canal incorporating specially designed pipelines or semi-flexible cable-like tubes extending from earth into space. These cables, power-lines and specially designed pipelines will be part of the Africa Grand’s supply network for lifting and piping people and products into space in large volumes including water, fuel, oxygen and other supplies that enhance space exploration, make space more habitable with the objective of lowering the costs of objectives such as creating habitats on the moon and further planetary exploration. Using the Africa Grand’s space elevator as a delivery system the Africa Grand would be able to supply electricity in large volumes to orbiting stations and use electricity it generates to ferry objects down to earth and into space as well as powering or providing fast recharging services to orbital space stations, battery powered vehicles and stations operating in orbit around the earth. What is gained will be the ability to build and maintain large floating structures in space for research, commercial activity, leisure, habitation and deep space exploration. This will enhance endeavours in space in which the Africa Grand will invest as part of its infrastructure and services as well as the commercial and industrial prospects offered by the moon and the solar system in general. The Africa Grand is also envisaged as synonymous with being a bridge between earth and space as part of its commercial interests and tourism. At its highest peaks the canal will be able to support several NASA like hubs especially selected for the creation of launch pads, space elevators and centres for research on space, powered by the African governments their investments in the Africa Grand and its commercial and public partners in space exploration.
Commerce and Industry
The central location of the African continent, the abundant electrical power provided by the hydro-electric canal, raw materials from the African interior available at the doorstep of manufacturers and processing taking place along the canal itself, are expected to give the African continent a major comparative advantage in manufacturing and distribution of the world’s consumer and industrial goods.
Though the Canal is a Super-highway linking African countries and cities together for industry and trade, it incorporates diverse types of transport and is primarily designated to be a self sustained almost limitless source of hydro-electric energy beginning with a target of 1 million megawatts of hydro-electric power. It is a power plant that straddles the entire length and breadth of the continent bringing African nations closer together for their common good and shared economic development. In essence the Canal will, along its length, have all the hallmarks of a mega city stretched along the length and breadth of the continent channelling development to every African country and its numerous cities, districts and municipalities.
It is envisaged that African countries will use the canal to maximise
natural resource exploitation and harness value addition which will take place
at their doorstep. Numerous commercial hubs will be created along the Canal.
Access to the most attractive eco-tourism regions of the interior will be
greatly improved. Advantage will be taken of the inflow of salt water to create
clear blue salt water beaches in the African interior around which new Hotels
and resorts can be built. Alongside these will be financial centres, banks,
shopping malls, housing complexes to serve the industries and populations
evolving around the Canal. This growth will tremendously increase the demand
for electricity which will be supplied by the canal itself increasing its
profitability.
Space Ports on the Africa Grand
The next significant age in humanity's endeavors will certainly consist of the establishment of space stations, hotels and other large scale habitations in space; with the next major objective being the development of new propulsion systems and identification of habitable planets where humanity can begin to spread to. The Africa Grand will be designed to cater for this stage in humanity's development and designed in such a manner that as new propulsion systems become available the canal is able to adapt its infrastructure to accommodate a wide mix of propulsion systems, even those that have evolved away from current systems to gravity driven propulsion systems.
At its highest elevations the Africa Grand is envisaged as having research centers for launching space vehicles and advanced space exploration. There will be ports established there for receiving and delivering vehicles launching into space or vehicles that appear for re-entry. These will inevitably consist of commercial space vehicles carrying cargo, commercial space passenger vehicles and private space venturing vehicles.
In other words no one coming from space can land on any part of the continent. These vehicles on re-entry would be expected to first seek port at any one of the nearest space ports situated on the hydro-canal where there will be cargo, immigration and customs services availed before goods and passengers travel onward onto the various types of transportation and accommodation offered by the canal. Passengers, goods and vehicles coming in from space will be screened for safety before they can be allowed to proceed into the African interior. They can then exit to or from any country in Africa from the hydro-canal.
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[1] Wiki
(2014) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canal
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroelectricity
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