While the British racked their brains trying to throw a wrench into the Suez Canal project, the Austrian Empire had not been idle either. William Froude's personal dirt was one of their achievements.
Richard Metternich's analogy was crude, but easy to understand. Any normal person knew that something like this needed room to spare.
As for the opposition from the British and those minor shareholders, it was not actually important.
The capital market did not care about public opinion or democracy. Just as the British had previously made it clear that they were putting everyone over a fire to roast, everyone could only hold their noses and accept it. After all, they had seized control of the company.
Now that the British were weakened, they had started playing democracy again, hoping to continue controlling the Suez Canal Company.
Franz would not give them that chance. The Austrian Empire directly put forward its own proposal.
Fourteen meters deep and 122 meters wide, it would permit two-way passage. Its theoretical capacity limit would be 80,000 tons, while the actual safe passage limit would be 60,000 tons.
At the present time, it could accommodate four lanes in both directions, or even six.
Franz's original plan had actually called for a depth of fifteen meters and a width of 150 meters. In theory, it could accommodate 100,000-ton cargo vessels and warships; even early aircraft carriers could pass through safely.
However, that project would have required 30% more work than the current plan. Even if 300,000 Egyptian laborers were mobilized and construction began simultaneously from four directions, it would still take an additional one to two years to complete.
Franz naturally did not mind waiting another year or two, but the other countries—especially those minor shareholders—could not afford to wait. France was among them.
Watching