by jebjab » Sun Jan 21, 2024 2:42 am
The Kundrati Observer
Kaesama, Kundrati
September 9, 5426
Back to the Days of Tsankov?
Renewal of the Kundrati Infrastructure Project Outlined in Nikolic's Newest Formal Report to the Assembly
Millions of Kundrati citizens have faced delays, whether it be at the airport, on the railroad, getting a package shipped to their house, or on a highway. For Kundrati, following its recent revival and subsequent merger with Kundrati Democracy into the big-tent National Coalition, nominated Zivan Nikolić for the Presidency, running on a platform of economic and infrastructure development pioneered by FK over a century ago during its first golden era.
With each year that passes, Nikolic liked to say to his constituents at one of his many public appearances, Kundrati loses another billion Kunos due to crumbling bridges, roads, airports, and canals. But it was not yet irreparable. Nikolic’s infrastructure platform was built upon the fundamental idea that to develop into a true powerhouse economy and assert itself internationally, Kundrati would have to build itself physical and digital infrastructure capable of maintaining domestic and international trade networks for the next century.
For Kundrati would not be there forever, he joked.
Nikolic, a new politician fresh out of academia, was viewed by many as the rational, educated, and ambitious leader that Kundrati needed going into the 55th century. As such, he won the presidency by a landslide, beating the KunSoc candidate by nearly 20% of the vote. Nikolic’s ambitious and progressive economic policies contrasted deeply with his conservative and nationalist rhetoric on social policy, catering to fears of the Artanian Union, loss of Kundrati sovereignty, and traditionalist morality.
Once asked on the campaign trail to summarize himself and his campaign in 3 words, he stated, “family, fatherland, and the future.” A month into his Presidency, with the ministries set to change to a National Coalition-dominated cabinet, he announced the release of, over the 5 year term, the remaining $9,436,224,000.00 from the original Kundrati Infrastructure Initiative to further infrastructure developments.
In the week following the election, Nikolic’s economic advisors officially released a lengthy infrastructure development platform, involving transportation networks, energy, telecommunications, water and sanitation, education facilities, healthcare, industry, agriculture, and the environment.
In the report, transportation was highlighted as a primary goal. The cliche of the crumbling bridge, the pothole in the road, and the delayed train remain cliches, but in Kundrati, they are an insight into reality. Engineering organizations have called for reform of transportation infrastructure for the last 50 years. Kundrati Democracy had attempted piecemeal attempts at infrastructure development, which made significant progress, but nonetheless the party remained focused on foreign affairs, which they remain leading under the presidency of Nikolic.
The plan authorized an investment of 1,342,200,000 KUN into roads, bridges and major transportation infrastructure projects. Specifically, the development and modernization of road and highway networks, primarily to mend and connect previously disconnected regions, particularly due to the Kundrati north-south split that has been causing significant economic dislocation and inefficiency since the nation’s brutal civil war centuries ago. In particular, ground began to be laid on an integrated interregional highway system connecting Galensk to Riverford, routing through Kaesama.
Existing road and highway systems are slated to be integrated into one route, slated to be named N-1, the first route of a newly reorganized national highway system. Previous systems had been largely funded and maintained at a local or regional level and not subject to national highway regulations, but the new National Highway Project would draw from a specifically allocated National Highway Fund, funded by national taxes on gasoline and car purchases. Unlike the construction of a brand new highway system, the expected costs of the National Highway Project would be low due to previously constructed roads connecting Galensk, Kaesama, and Peghonai. The majority of the costs would lie in the reorganization of national funding and maintenance systems, as well as the expansion, standardization, and improvement of existing motorway systems. A second route, slated to be named N-2, is planned to join the existing Kaesama-Aethansk highway route with a planned route connecting Tomasadyn, Kadyn, and Kaesama.
$2,001,560,000 was set aside from previous funds for the expansion of passenger and freight rail, a topic that many criticized previous FK infrastructure initiatives on. The Kundrati Infrastructure Project of a century ago was often described by critics as car-centric or otherwise lacking enough provisions to mitigate the environmental impacts of travel by car and by air. Nikolic’s proposal involves a much larger commitment to rail development, considered not only to be highly important as an environmental token by the government’s left-wing economic advisors, but also as a matter of economic growth. Kundrati, a peninsular nation, relies on rail to transport goods from southern ports to northern ports, northern ports to southern ports, or simply to distribute machined goods throughout the country. Further, rail links constitute important trade links particularly as a hedge against potentially volatile sea shipping lines, an opinion partially informed by recent developments in the Migrant’s Pass, but also by increasingly strong continental ties to nations such as Dundorf and Luthori as the AU continues to develop.
More specifically, expansion, repair, and retrofitting projects were to be prioritized. Existing rail lines exist between nearly every major city in Kundrati, especially the industrial hubs of the Kundrati north and center. The issue, however, lies in their lack of modernity and relative states of disrepair in parts of the country, especially amongst rail lines linking the industrial center of the nation to important southern ports, such as those in Etxea and Jildrath. The President promised to reform the regulatory framework regarding rail development, approving several backlogged maintenance projects to be provided funding by previously ignored sources of funding, namely the billions remaining in the various KIP funds.
With Kundrati’s transition into an increasingly industrial economy, energy infrastructure has become increasingly important. In fact, it was a significant topic of debate throughout the Nikolic campaign. While blackouts and brownouts are not prevalent in Kundrati, energy consumption is increasing, and national sentiment generally tilts against increased fossil fuel consumption. Kundrati made strides toward green energy with the creation of its large wind farm in southern Celania. While that wind farm opened after nearly a decade under construction, and provides for a large portion of southern Celania’s electric generation, further strides have been seen as necessary.
Lirnak is relatively sparsely populated out of its 3 urban areas, leaving the majority of its inner counties fairly rural. Much of this land is government-owned but underutilized, providing an interesting opportunity for a second renewable power station. Construction is set to commence within 2 months at the site of the new Sekundino Carriquiriberry Erauncetamurguil Solar Plant in central Lirnak. The plant, expected to have a power capacity of 300 MW, at an estimated cost of $430,000,000, will be funded by a cartel of joint national government and private investment sources. At least $200,000,000 will be sourced from the electric grid improvement fund legislated into the Kundrati Infrastructure Project.
In order to meet increasing electrical demand and prevent the aforementioned brownouts and blackouts, thorough feasibility studies will be undertaken to identify critical locations for electric grid expansion. It is expected that once these studies are undertaken, the government will partner with local and regional governments and private investors to provide subsidies for national electric grid improvements.
Kundrati has a relative lack of redundant local and regional power grid connection, creating a heightened risk of electrical grid failure, considered an intolerable risk by many involved in the growth of the country’s burgeoning urban and industrialized economy. Already planned is a project, allocated a flexible budget limited to $20,000,000 to put in place long-distance transmission lines connecting urban areas in Lirnak to the its center in preparation for the country’s soon-to-be second largest renewable energy plant, as well as to put in place long-distance transmission lines connecting the 600 MW wind power plant in southern Celania to high-volume electricity users in the region, particularly Keita and Galensk.
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