Yet this flourishing of a hundred flowers was limited to the cities along the Great Lakes; it could not extend across the entire Great Lakes Region. For the East African government, the Great Lakes Region was a food-production base, so too much agricultural land could not be sacrificed for industrial development.
On the other hand, East Africa's future industrial structure would clearly still center on the coastal and central regions. Defying the laws of economic development was plainly unsustainable.
The inland central region was special because of three factors: administration, resources, and transportation. The capital, Rhine City, lay in the center; there was no need to say more about that.
In mineral resources, the central region ranked second only to the south. Yet it did not suffer from the shortcoming of lacking water resources, and it enjoyed an excellent climate along with solid industrial and agricultural foundations—things the southern region lacked.
In transportation, East Africa's railways, highways, and canals converged in the central region. The country's two major railway hubs were New Frankfurt City and Rhine City, which were also its two major highway hubs. At the same time, the central region formed the middle section of the East African Canal, linking East Africa's eastern and western coastal regions.
In the future, the central region would also become the core hub of East Africa's domestic aviation industry. Apart from sea transport, transportation in the center was exceptionally developed and convenient.
This could be seen from the cities of the central region. Mbeya city, Harare city, New Frankfurt City, and Bulawayo city all ranked among East Africa's top ten economically, while cities such as Rhine City, Lusaka, Kisangani city, and Tete City were also developing rapidly. The central region's small industrial and mining cities were as numerous as the hairs on