The importance of the North African Railway went without saying. Precisely because of that, however, the choice of its terminus had to be made with caution. Italian Libya had limited ports, of which Benghazi and Tobruk offered the best conditions. Apart from these two ready-made ports, none of the others amounted to much.
Belit sat cross-legged on the sand, casually spreading out a map as he briefed his team.
"Objectively speaking, Tobruk's overall natural conditions were superior to Benghazi's. It was an excellent sheltered harbor, while Benghazi was more vulnerable to various natural disasters such as storms, sandstorms, and floods."
"However, Benghazi had a broader economic reach and was the center of all East Libya. During the Kingdom of Libya, it stood on equal footing with Tripoli, both serving as capitals."
"Tobruk, on the other hand, had historically served more as a military supply station and played a very limited economic role in Libya."
"Therefore, the North African Railway's terminus would inevitably be Benghazi. Beyond those advantages, choosing Benghazi could also greatly shorten the railway's length and reduce construction costs."
Yeril added, "Sir, there is another point. Benghazi's location is more favorable for expanding our trade with Europe. Tobruk lies too far east, right beside Egypt, making it easy for it to overlap functionally with the Suez Canal. Yet Tobruk clearly could not compete with the Suez Canal's maritime route."
On the map, Benghazi faced the Italian Peninsula, while Tobruk faced the Balkan Peninsula. The former was more conducive to trade with the nations of Central and Western Europe, while the latter served Central and Eastern Europe.
Yet Central and Eastern Europe itself was an important market for East Africa, and development of that market depended on trade through the Suez Canal.
Of course, whether Benghazi or Tobruk was chosen