World we Dare Imagine, Part 3

 Historically civilisation has thrived in very specific places, mainly near waterways. Whereas before it was rivers, now it is more the ocean that connects the world, but behind nearly 60% of the population does not live even within 100 km of the coast. How can we free them from their enclave? 

AFRAIL will connect previously landlocked areas cheaply, efficiently and sustainably. It will allow for the development of these otherwise ignored areas and to enrich the local populations in a non-invasive way. It will be more of a program than a corporation in and of itself, it will serve to link the remote areas of Africa both nationally and internationally, creating new dynamics between and within countries that will have virtually limitless applications. 

This program will serve as a platform for collaboration between developed nations and the countries of Africa, for their mutual benefit. Developed countries will use their knowledge and incite large corporations to implement themselves in these countries, building factories there, constructing and planning the railroads, train stations etc…

Initial stages: 

Firms from developed nations that already have a lot of experience with these matters will expand to the country in question, which will be facilitated by the state seeing as it will benefit them tremendously. Once installed the company will implement what is needed for them to manufacture directly in the country. They will plan in close cooperation with the government officials and populations the ideal path for the train, accounting details etc… 

Manufacturing: 

It is extremely important that the firms manufacture in the recipient nations and not abroad, the idea behind having a train is not just to have a train but also to help nations industrialize and catch up to more “advanced” nations faster. This is something that was implemented quite impressively with the Airbus factory in China from which the Chinese companies learned how to build commercial airplanes, their first model being well underway. 

Furthermore this will provide employment for the local populations, training them in more advanced tasks meaning better future employment as well. This whole endeavor will function somewhat like the Tennessee valley authority did in the US (except hopefully better) in that it will consist of massive government and private investments that will stop crises in the concerned countries and boost their economic growth. 

Everything from the trains to the tracks will be produced on location. 

Implementation: 

The program will probably begin with only one railroad linking multiple smaller cities in an effort to connect them with each other, and will later expand to more regions, cities, etc…  This will also serve as a proof of concept for future expansions, meaning that the first project will be absolutely vital to the survival of this program. 

Impact

AFRAIL will create stronger bonds between the concerned nations as they will have to cooperate closely with one another for years if not decades, even if the idea is ultimately to have the African countries be able to build their railways themselves. Perhaps it will even create stronger bonds between African nations through interdependence (like it did in the EU), preventing conflicts and economic tensions. 

It will revitalize abandoned regions and create new economic opportunities, simply through the fact that just like cities used to be with rivers and oceans, they will be connected to the main routes of trade. 

Ideally this would be an entirely state finance project but that will likely be complicated to achieve which means for some time at least the private firm will have control over the railroads, but nonetheless this will be incredibly beneficial for the participating African nations.