Chapter 360 Supreme Directive (2)

Suez Branch.

Because the Nile River stood in the way, construction on the Southern Canal had only completed the parallel channel east of the river. This section was now undergoing a second widening.

After all, a channel width of 120 meters was far too narrow. When the Evergreen Marine Corporation container ship passed through the Suez Canal, it ran aground because the canal's surface was only a little over 300 meters wide and not deep enough at the sides.

This was also why the Suez Canal Management Company, a subsidiary of the Homo Sapiens Company, had set the navigation limit for the canal at 50,000 tons.

According to the plan, a single channel of the Southern Canal's main line was designed for a width of 500 meters and a depth of 45 meters. Achieving the full 500-meter surface width would require at least four more rounds of dredging along its length.

Fortunately, the New Luzon Shipbuilding Company and Ceylon Shipbuilding Company would be delivering a total of 15 Giant Rhino-class canal-digging ships over the next year, which would drastically increase the speed of the excavation.

「North of Kom Ombu City.」

The calm surface of the Nile River was devoid of large vessels. This was mainly because the river was in its dry season. Combined with the steady increase in industrial and agricultural water use on both banks, the Nile's depth had fallen to less than five meters, severely diminishing its value for shipping.

The Gobi Desert New District was located south of the Southern Canal and east of the Nile River, 5.7 kilometers from the river's main channel.

Hu Mingliang, the director in charge, and Ujima Beiyang, the head of the planning group, were standing on the bank of the Nile, studying how to get the canal across the river.

If it were a freshwater canal, it wouldn't be so much trouble; they could simply connect it directly.

The problem was that the Southern Canal was a saltwater canal. If it were connected directly to the Nile, given that this section of the river was at an elevation of 58 to 60 meters while the canal was at sea level, the consequences would be catastrophic. The Nile's water would rapidly drain into the Southern Canal, causing the river's lower reaches to dry up completely.

Hu Mingliang turned his head and asked, "Ujima, do we have a plan yet?"

"I've discussed it with the planners at headquarters. If we go with the aqueduct bridge plan, the canal will only be able to accommodate ships under 100,000 tons."

Hu Mingliang took Ujima Beiyang's tablet, which displayed the design for the aqueduct bridge.

The plan involved building two massive bridges over the canal, allowing the Nile River to flow across them. The canal itself would pass underneath.

This was the most time- and labor-efficient solution. It would prevent the Nile from draining into the canal while also keeping the canal's saltwater from contaminating the river's freshwater.

Other options, like using ship locks or a four-sided cofferdam, were inferior to the aqueduct bridge proposal.

But as good as the aqueduct bridge was, its drawbacks were glaring.

The Nile's surface elevation here was 58 to 60 meters, with the riverbed at 50 to 55 meters. After factoring in the thickness of the aqueduct bridge structure itself, the clearance between the bottom of the bridge and the canal's surface would be reduced to only about 40 meters.

With a vertical clearance of 40 meters, 100,000-ton transport ships could only just barely squeeze through.

Yet the Southern Canal was designed for ships up to the 300,000-ton class.

Hu Mingliang asked with a frown, "Are there any other options?"

Ujima Beiyang considered it for a moment. "There is a more complicated solution."

"Let's hear it."

Ujima Beiyang pulled up another design on the tablet. "Build two aqueduct bridges featuring seven-stage ship locks, while also excavating a drainage tunnel to connect the upstream and downstream sections of the Nile, which would be separated by the bridges."

Hu Mingliang stared at the new proposal, its scale several times larger than the first, and fell into a deep consideration of its pros and cons.

In this plan, the central section of the aqueduct bridge spanning the canal would be raised to a height of 100 meters above the water's surface, and this span would be one kilometer long.

The bottom of the bridge would be at an elevation of 100 meters. Add to that a 12-meter-thick structural layer and a water depth of 12 meters for the river, and the bridge's containment walls would need to be around 30 meters tall. This would bring the entire structure's peak elevation to 130 meters.

This created a drop of nearly 70 meters from the aqueduct's peak to the Nile's natural water level on either side.

Therefore, three ship locks would be built on each side to allow 50,000-ton vessels on the Nile to navigate this new elevation change smoothly.

Additionally, two more locks were designed to connect the Nile River with the Southern Canal.

The two drainage tunnels, running beneath the Southern Canal to connect the upstream and downstream sections of the Nile, were primarily intended to ensure the river's flow remained uninterrupted.

Obviously, this plan was several times more expensive, and its complexity was on another level.

But the benefits were also obvious. The Southern Canal would be able to accommodate 300,000-ton transport ships without obstruction, which would significantly accelerate the Homo Sapiens Company's future development of the Sahara Desert Area.

After weighing the pros and cons, Hu Mingliang made his decision. "We'll go with the second plan. If we try to penny-pinch now, upgrading it later will be an even bigger hassle."

"Alright then! I'll use the second plan as the basis for my discussions with the headquarters' planning and design department."

Hu Mingliang nodded. "I'll leave this in your hands."

Suddenly, Hu Mingliang's assistant approached and whispered something in his ear. Hu Mingliang raised an eyebrow, then shrugged at Ujima Beiyang. "Something else has come up."

"Haha, no problem. Go on, get to it! I need to have the geological survey team examine the surrounding terrain anyway."

After taking his leave of Ujima Beiyang, Hu Mingliang drove an armored vehicle back to the Gobi Desert New District and hurried to his office.

Two people were waiting inside his office.

One was a rugged-faced, elderly Slavic man, and the other was a middle-aged man in a space-gray uniform.

"Dr. Mikoyan! Major General Du Hai! Hello, I'm Hu Mingliang, the director in charge of the Gobi Desert New District for the Suez Branch."

Dr. Mikoyan, who had previously worked in the aircraft manufacturing department of the Qingye Aviation Group, had since been transferred to its Third Design Institute.

"Hello, Hu! We've come looking for your help this time," Dr. Mikoyan said, pulling him into a bear hug.

Major General Du Hai took out a blank sheet of paper and handed it to Hu Mingliang.

Hu Mingliang took it and peeled off the special film on its surface. Then, using the pheromone decoder in his bio-chip, he read the special pheromone code embedded in the paper.

After 30 seconds, the pheromones on the paper had completely dissipated, leaving behind nothing more than an ordinary blank sheet.

Having read the classified information, Hu Mingliang replied grimly, "I understand. I will cooperate fully with your work and provide all necessary security and cover."

"We'll be counting on you, then." Major General Du Hai saluted.

Du Hai brought up the office's virtual map.

Du Hai circled an area on the virtual map. "Right here."

"East of Jiajie Manor in the Harij Oasis District? No problem. However, the Southern Canal can't be extended to the Harij Oasis District until after the Nile River hub project is complete."

Du Hai asked, "How long will that take?"

Hu Mingliang thought for a moment. "The main ship locks and the drainage tunnels will take about seven months combined. We estimate we can extend a single canal channel to the Harij Oasis District by the end of this year."

Hearing this timeline, Du Hai quickly made a decision. "It seems we'll have to dispatch a fleet of transport aircraft to get a head start on setting things up in the Harij Oasis District."

Then he turned his head. "Doctor, you and the space base planning team should stay here in Kom Ombo for now. I'll personally lead a team to the Harij Oasis District. As for the layout and planning, we can coordinate via satellite phone."

"No problem." Dr. Mikoyan had no desire to go to the Harij Oasis District right away either. After all, he was nearly sixty, and there wasn't much he could do to help by going there at this stage.

The three men conferred for a while longer before parting ways, each heading off to begin their respective tasks.

Establishing a space base in the Suez Region was, after all, another one of Li Qingye's directives.