SWNOVELXO Chapter 662 Container Transshipment Port
29th February 1660
Akhand Bharatiya Empire, Simhasana Bhavana
Jagannath Mohan was sitting in the conference room alone, sulking. He was waiting for the Prime Minister and Minister of Transportation to arrive, but it was not the waiting that made him unhappy—it was something entirely different.
A day ago
Jagannath Mohan was humming a pleasant tune in a very good mood. Every time he looked at the number 1,000,000,000 in the ledger of the treasury, he felt like he was floating in the wind—so airy and happy. He was in such a good mood that, for the past few weeks, he even approved budgets he normally would not. For some reason, the people even looked at him weirdly when he approved the budget they asked for. It left him scratching his head.
Sadly though, it didn't last long. He received an invitation from the Simhasana Bhavana from His Majesty for a discussion on the use of the newly obtained funds.
"Hey Ram, no!"
He screamed inwardly, as he felt very unwilling to let go of the money.
Back to the present day,
Jagannath Mohan didnt wait long, half an hour later, Prime Minister Vinod, along with the Minister of Transportation, Nirmal, entered the conference room.
Vinod and Nirmal both greeted Jagannath Mohan, but since he was sulking, he was not too enthusiastic with his greeting.
'What happened to this guy?' They were confused, as they did not understand why Mohan was acting so weird today. But then Vinod suddenly remembered the reason why his majesty called for them, and thinking about the stingy character of Mohan, he pursed his lips.
Moments later
Vijay entered the conference room along with Ganesh, carrying what looked to be a huge map.
"Long live Your Majesty, long live, long live!" Everyone got up from their seats and immediately greeted. Vijay, while walking to his chair, waved at everyone asking them to sit down.
"So, gentlemen, how to spend the 1.05 billion Varaha—put forward your suggestions; let us discuss the feasibility." Vijay motioned Gangadhar to hang the map on the stand.
Vinod and the others saw that it was just a normal Bharatiya Empire map. They did not think much about it and focused on the question mentioned by His Majesty.
"Your Majesty, how about we start another major infrastructure project? How about a river-linking project?" Vinod said.
Jagannath Mohan's lips twitched uncontrollably. 'Prodigal, goddamn prodigal! Are you trying to empty the treasury?' He cussed secretly in his heart. 'What the f*** do you want to do?'
Fortunately, he still remembered that he was sitting in front of the emperor.
Vijay did not immediately reject the proposal because the benefits brought by infrastructure development were obvious. Even at present, the two infrastructure megaprojects have already directly employed more than ten million people and indirectly become a source of income for many. A whole economic chain has formed from the project, creating value and wealth for society while stimulating the economy.
Looking at Vijay actually considering the suggestion, Jagannath Mohan became restless, his expression becoming worried. 'His Majesty won't approve the project, will he?' Fortunately, the next moment, His Majesty shook his head, putting his poor heart at ease.
Vijay looked up at Vinod. "It's a good idea, but for now, it is not necessary. The problem of water security will be solved by the canal project alone. And more importantly, the population in this southern part of the empire has increased too rapidly. Until now, we have been able to manage it because we have sound infrastructure, but if the river-linking project is started, I believe we cannot hold on anymore."
"How about we invest in road construction, Your Majesty?" Nirmal suggested.
"No!" Vijay shook his head. "Again, it's a good idea, but there is no urgent necessity. Think of an investment direction that will immediately benefit the empire."
"Also, Nirmal, doesn't your ministry receive regular investments from the empire for road construction? Now, why are you eager to spend one billion all of a sudden?"
Vijay said as he looked at Nirmal with a hint of teasing. Nirmal immediately became embarrassed and lowered his head.
Looking at the people discussing how to spend the money the treasury had just received, Jagannath Mohan finally realized that there was no use sulking. The money was going to be spent whether he liked it or not. So, he might as well suggest something that was at least acceptable to the Empire's finances.
"How about we expand the ports, Your Majesty?" He looked at Vijay, expectant.
Hearing the suggestion, Vijay's eyes immediately lit up. "Very good. It's similar to what I was thinking about."
"Ports!"
Vijay took a quill pen on the table and threw it to Ganesh.
"The major ports of our empire include Chabahar, Gwadar, Ormara, Karachi, Jamnagar, Mumbai, Mangaluru, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Colombo, Chennai, Vishakhapatnam, Paradeep, and finally Kolkata."
"Each one of them could be considered the roots on which our empire stands, each one a crucial economic node and economic lifeline to the empire."
"So it is very important that, even if these ports are too large, we should make sure that they are not too small."
"Currently, all the ports have been constantly expanding on their own by the support of the state governments. But I feel like it is not quick enough."
Vijay looked at Vinod. "The central government should take on this duty and improve port infrastructure."
Vijay pointed at Thiruvananthapuram. "It has a docking capacity of 100,000 tons, capable of docking 50 Delhi-class battleships. Take Thiruvananthapuram as the scale and improve all the major ports' infrastructure to a capacity of no less than 50,000 tons. You should follow this 2:1 standard from now on."
Vinod nodded in acceptance with a serious expression on his face.
Vijay looked towards the Finance Minister. "Mohan, allocate 200 million Varaha for this project."
"Yes, Your Majesty." He nodded, trying his best to conceal his smile. 'At least 800 million will be left out,' he thought, but sadly, his smile froze the very next moment.
"The remaining funds will be allocated to the construction of the largest overseas container transshipment port of the Bharatiya Empire, located in the Andaman."
Jagannath Mohan, Vinod, and Nirmal were immediately surprised. "A port entirely dedicated to container ships, Your Majesty?"
Vijay nodded. "As our involvement in Southeast Asia increases, it becomes more and more inconvenient for there not to be a transit station in between. So, I have decided to make Nakkavaram Island (Main Andaman Island) into the largest port centered on trade in the empire."
"The whole island will be made into a giant city like Bengaluru, Mumbai, Thiruvananthapuram, or Vishakhapatnam, fully focused on port services and trade."
All three ministers were suddenly silent,
"Um!" Nirmal hesitated a little. "Your Majesty, doesn't it make more sense to build the port in Sokotra since most of our trade is done on the western coast, and most of the income we earn through exports is from the Europeans?" He then added, "Not to mention we have a lot of interests in the Arabian Peninsula."
Jagannath Mohan and Vinod both nodded their heads, as they had similar doubts. As to why it had to be a container port, they did not have any doubt, since they had seen how useful it was.
Vijay nodded in appreciation. "It's a very good observation, and you're right—it would be better for the city to be built in Sokotra, but not right now." *It would be best if it is built after the construction of the Suez Canal,* he silently added.
"You have to understand that Southeast Asia has always been and always will be the main focus of the Bharatiya Empire. It was the same for the Pandyas, for the Cholas, and it will be the same for us. We may make more profits from the Europeans, but the strategic importance of Southeast Asia is much greater, since most of the islands are still unexplored, uninhabited, and have unlimited growth possibilities."
A hint of ambition was revealed in his tone. "For the past decade, I have worked hard to build up a solid foundation for our people. I have brought the Bharatiya Empire from a country in the southern part of the subcontinent to one of the strongest empires in the world. Now, we no longer have to be constrained to the subcontinent. It is time for Bharat to spread its glory. We will now formally embark on the road to a superpower, and the road will start with Southeast Asia."
All three ministers were taken aback, but not for too long, since His Majesty had formed the Pacific Fleet and the Atlantic Fleet during the naval expansion meeting, everyone already knew the ambitions of His Majesty. So instead of being shocked, they were just surprised, unable to believe that the time to realize His Majesty's ambition was coming so soon.
Vijay was very satisfied with the reactions. "Let me reveal to you all a secret." He nodded at Ganesh.
Ganesh flipped open the map, revealing a secondary map, but this time, as soon as the ministers saw the map, they all gasped in shock.
"Rama!"
"Oh!"
"Deva!"
"Yo—Your Majesty, this..." Vinod stuttered.
Vijay nodded. "A large landmass is present south of the Southeast Asian island cluster."
"Its size is unknown, but from the description, it is at least a few million square kilometers."
"Gasp!"
"Who discovered it, Your Majesty?"
Vijay shrugged. "I don't know."
The ministers were disappointed.
"But information about this island was discovered in an inscription found in the Nalanda University."
"It was written in Tamil-Brahmi script, and given that there were many more books to be deciphered before it, it took so long to get to it."
"The script was about a journey funded by a Pandya King over 2000 years ago, called Mudukudumi Peruvazhuthi. In fact, according to his manuscript, even he only got to know about the landmass after looking at some old inscriptions on the walls, and the discovery might have been made over 3000 or even 4000 years ago. But since King Mudukudumi had limited resources, the current manuscript mentioned the approximate location of the landmass and its size, which may only be a small part of the old landmark, as even King Mudukudumi did not fully explore this new landmass due to its sheer size."
In fact, Vijay was not making it up; the DNA reports from his last life suggested that migration did happen sometime 5000 years ago between the subcontinent and Australia. He did indeed discover the manuscript, which even shocked him. In the end, he couldn't help but lament the destroyed knowledge of the civilization in his past life from Nalanda and Takshashila.
Vinod suddenly thought of something. "Your Majesty, hasn't it been discovered by anyone else?"
Vijay shook his head. "No one we should worry about."
"The Dutch should have discovered it at the beginning of the century , but it seemed like they only thought it was a large island. Taking the distance into account, they may not have discovered the island fully."
"Maybe the Chinese in the past had discovered it, given the close proximity, but I doubt they still remember the details, given how anti-sea travel they had become during the Ming Empire."
Vinod, Nirmal, and Jagannath Mohan immediately let out a sigh of relief. Then, they became excited, thinking about a whole new landmass of millions of square kilometers entirely under their control. This made their faces flush, and their blood pressure accelerated.
Even Jagannath Mohan forgot everything about the money.
Finally, Nakkavaram was chosen as the first container transshipment port of the Bharatiya Empire, with a capacity of 500,000 tons and an investment of 850 million Varaha.
P.S. Thankyou Autumn_4crocus, for IceCola*2