East Africa's main purposes in building the Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric Power Station were threefold: power generation, navigation, and water storage. Navigation and water resources themselves were East Africa's weak links, which was why it had the determination to undertake such a water conservancy project.
Among the great powers of the present day, East Africa had the poorest conditions for water transport. The United States had the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes connected to the Atlantic Ocean. The Soviet Union had the Volga River, which, after artificial modification, could likewise reach the sea from the Black Sea by way of the Don River.
As for the other countries, Germany possessed both land and sea advantages, as well as the Rhine River, that "golden waterway." France faced the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Mediterranean Sea on the other, while its inland water network was also quite good.
Countries such as Britain, Japan, and Italy did not have particularly outstanding inland water transport, but the conditions for developing maritime transportation were extremely mature.
Then there was the issue of water resources. Among the great powers, East Africa was relatively deficient in water resources, and water resources directly determined the upper limits of industrial and agricultural scale.
Once the Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric Power Station was completed, East Africa's efficiency in utilizing the Zambezi River's water resources would rise enormously, enough to turn the lower reaches of the Zambezi River into East Africa's future "Land of Abundance."
Director Wasser said, "By now, water resource constraints have already become a major factor affecting the expansion of quite a few cities in the Empire."
"The most typical example is probably Mombasa city. Mombasa city lacks the support of any major river, and its climate is relatively arid, so urban water supplies are strained."
Mombasa