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The Land of Desera

Started by nedalezz, February 01, 2010, 09:09:16 PM

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wallasey

Great work on the mosaic! The urban and agriculture areas really compliment themselves well.

nedalezz

Hey everyone! As some of you might already know, I have started an ambitious project called The Dunya Project. If you are familiar with "The Towne", then you will get the general idea behind it. Basically, what happens is that each player that joins controls a character, making desicions each turn such as buying land, buying goods, opening companies, etc. It is a detailed and slightly complex game with lots of pictures and numbers! The game is forever evolving, and the country of Dunya is being shaped by the collaboration of you, the characters! I am hosting the project over at SC4D, but will post the updates here as well. Please head over to The Dunya Project forums, and join up as we are looking for more participants!




Turn Nineteen


Population: 7,162
GDP: $36,454,580 ($5,090 per person annually)
Labor Force: 3,223
Education Level: 0.09 out of 4


The most evident change the past few months in Rawa'a has been the expansion of the downtown area, which we will be reviewing in further detail in the next update. Where the Bank of Dunya used to be is a new building, and the land that was for sale by the government have been sold and developed.

The government is also ready to start developing its own building near the Central Mosque and House of Christ Church. The project would take about 2 years after the groundbreaking, and the initial cost would be around $1 million.







Rawa'a now has 2 developed residential neighborhoods – the lower/middle class Hansford neighborhood, named after Hansford Street that cuts directly through it, and the more affluent Treelane neighborhood in southern Rawa'a.






Here is the Dunya Information sheet for Turn Nineteen!

The Dunya Information Sheet – Turn 19

Ol.S / Benoit

Great update !

I love what you've done so far with this Dunya Project ! :)
Benoit.
MD : Click on picture

nedalezz

Here is a small teaser for whats coming up in Turn 20!


bat

Some wonderful updates there! And the night shot is really nice! :thumbsup:

nedalezz

 Hey everyone! As some of you might already know, I have started an ambitious project called The Dunya Project. If you are familiar with "The Towne", then you will get the general idea behind it. Basically, what happens is that each player that joins controls a character, making desicions each turn such as buying land, buying goods, opening companies, etc. It is a detailed and slightly complex game with lots of pictures and numbers! The game is forever evolving, and the country of Dunya is being shaped by the collaboration of you, the characters! I am hosting the project over at SC4D, but will post the updates here as well. Please head over to The Dunya Project forums, and join up as we are looking for more participants!




Turn Twenty


Population: 10,495
GDP: $53,944,300 ($5,140 per person annually)
Labor Force: 4,723
Education Level: 0.1 out of 4




Celebrating ten years of independence, Dunya has now officially passed the ten thousand residents mark, achieving one of the primary goals of development King Edward Ezamsi had set for his government. There have been numerous developments the past year, with most of it based in the center of Rawa'a involving commercial activity. The Jawad Building, constructed by the Jawad family, sits on the former site of the Bank of Dunya, on the corner of Main and Edward Ezamsi Streets. The building contains some apartments on the upper floors, and 3 stores on the ground floor. Further down Main Street sits the McCormick Building, built by the McCormick family. Although the architecture is drastically different than the Jawad Building (given the owners' European background), the premise is the same. They have rented a large showroom on the ground floor, and each floor above that has 4 apartments for rent. Finally, the Yassar Building, situated on the corner of First Street and Cross Lane, has officially taken the title of tallest building in Rawa'a, standing at 4 floors. It is also the costliest private development in the history of Dunya, costing the Yassar family $800,000 upon completion. Unlike the first 2 development mentioned, the Yassar Building is exclusively an office facility, with the ground floor used by the Yassar family for their new marketing company. The rest of the floors have 3 offices per floor.









The other new developments have been the farmlands on Fairview Road, to the northwest of Rawa'a. The new farms owners include the Grover and Verdi families, both of which had sold farms closer to the town in order to take advantage of the government initiative that gives discounted land for agricultural development further out of town.






As Rawa'a continues to develop, so does the demand for land closer to the center of the town. Land prices continue to rise, and the unofficial price now stands at $5,000 per plot, a far cry from the $1,000 per plot that a lot of land owners had bought their land at.  The extra income generated by taxes and other income has allowed the government to finish up its Power Plant and make lots of headway on the new Rawa'a International Airport, which is becoming closer to finishing. The next few months should see the completion of both projects.







Here is the Dunya Information sheet for Turn Twenty!

The Dunya Information Sheet – Turn 20

Terring7

It's very interesting to see the evolution of a city. Can't wait for the future. What it will have?
"The wisest men follow their own direction" Euripides
The Choice is Ours
---
Simtropolis Moderator here. Can I help? Oh, and you can call me Elias (my real name) if you wish.

nedalezz

GENERAL INFORMATION

A forgotten land, once called a desolate waste by 16th and 17th century explorers on their way to the Americas, Desera (rumored to have come from the Twi words for calm and desert) has been the home to nomadic tribes for thousands of years. No documented history has ever been recorded from the island situated in the middle of the atlantic, although the oral history – told through generations by tribal storytellers – is as rich as any. Even in this day and age, Desera has been ignored by the world until now, thanks to the discovery of that black gold: oil.

Historically, there has never been a recorded settlement on Desera until now (Kafra being the only), but current estimates have put its total population at around five million, split up into as many as three hundred different tribes. Of those three hundred, there are around twenty larger tribes who dominate the landscape. The largest is the Kasoa tribe, but the most powerful is the Mallam tribe, the tribe of the current leader of Desera, the Royal President Sidebe Mallam. Underneath him is the recently formed Desera Council, made up of tribal leaders from across the land and who act as advisors and planners for the Royal Presidency. The Desera Council sits above all other ministries, which report directly to it and take its orders directly from it.

The capital city of the newly formed nation of Desera is called Kafra, and is situated on the southern shores of the island. Kafra has only been recently formed, thanks to the construction of the small seaport and Desera's only power plant. Currently, Kafra's residents are made up of workers of the seaport and powerplant, as well as all official Desera Council representatives. It is the first time in the known history of Desera that there has been a permanent settlement, although stories do speak of forts and such throughout the years.



BRIEF HISTORY

As stated above, very little is known about the history of Desera, and other than the stories of the tribal storytellers, there is no way of knowing anything about it. There have been no recorded documents either on or off the island, and until very recently, it was not even considered a country. The son of current Royal President Mallam, the Prince Diallo Mallam, on a fishing expedition off the southern coast of Desera a few years, ran into a sailing ship, which anchored off the islands and stayed as guests of the Mallam tribe for three nights. During that time, Prince Diallo learned much of the outside world, and persuaded his father to allow him to travel with the ship, with the promise of returning in two years.

Prince Diallo Mallam returned in two years on a much larger ship, and with a team of oil explorers that had pinpointed vast reserves underneath the Deseran soils. During his time in Europe, the prince had found out about oil when he was casually explaining to the sailors of the black liquid that could be found all over the island. He was swiftly taken to a company called Brand Oil, who wasted no time in committing to a journey to Desera.

One year after the return of Prince Diallo Mallam, Desera was officially formed into a nation after a meeting by all the tribal leaders, naming the leader of the Mallam tribe, Sidebe Mallam, as the Royal President. He had won the other tribes over with the promise of vast riches beyond their wildest imagination, something that he was sure he could give after the worth of oil was explained to him. With help from Brand Oil, a small settlement called Kafra was built on the southern coast, in what was known as Mallam nomadic territory, with a small seaport and powerplant to help support the settlement. The preliminary oil fields that were set up were minor in size, exporting only 5,000 barrels a day, and were found a few hundred miles north of Kafra. A single road was built to reach the small oil fields from the seaport, cutting through Kafra, which was located just to the north of the seaport. With the government in place and the official recognition of Desera as a country, we begin the story of this once desolate land as it grows its way into the world.



The settlement of Kafra.



The Kafra powerplant, situated to the north of the settlement. The powerplant runs on coal.


Kafra and the Kafra Seaport, looking south.


The Kafra Seaport, looking north.


An aerial shot of Kafra.

nbvc


nedalezz

[size=24]Year One[/size]

It had been one full year since Desera's official declaration of Independence on January 1st, and what an eventful year it had been. The 45 year old Royal President Sidebe Mallam culminated the country's first year as an independent nation by throwing a grand celebration at the newly built Desera Council Building, otherwise known as Independence Hall, inviting all the tribal leaders from around the country to attend. It was a fitting end to an equally grand, if slightly chaotic, first year.

The hardest part was getting the new paper currency, officially called the Emle (singular and plural), into the hands of the people. The Emli was pegged to the US Dollar, and $1 equaled E1. The Desera Council had an overwhelming tough time opening up tiny branches of communication throughout the land, and around those small, glorified tents, families began to settle. All over Desera, settlements of 10 or 20 people popped up, as the nomadic tribes began situating themselves close to where they could get money. They would sell whatever they came up with, whether it was fish, livestock, crop, or even handcrafted items in return for the new currency. The Desera Council had purposely set up the program in order to introduce the currency into the lives of its citizens. Those same communication branches collected taxes from the people, which quickly became a major source of revenue for the Desera Council.

The largest of all settlements was the capital city of Kafra, which swelled in a single year to 770 residents. Along Mallam Road, the only paved road in the entire nation, a small trading market made up of a few buildings quickly developed just north of the Kafra Seaport. The export of Desera's main asset, oil, was still very primitive, with small barges coming in daily to transport the oil back to Europe. The oil was being shipped by land from the oil fields to the north of Kafra down to the seaport, where the barges and their crews would be waiting. Kafra's trade activity initially revolved around these foreigners, but by the end of the year, the local market also played an important part.

Whether meat, fish, crops, or handcrafted items, people saw that they could sell their product to a much bigger customer base if they could sell it in Kafra, which led to the quick expansion of its center. By the year's end, the daytime population of the capital city was thought to be around 10,000 people, although less than 10% of that actually lived in the town. At night, most of the visitors to Kafra would head back over to the rest of their tribe, but one thing was for certain – the lives of everyone in this new nation had changed forever.

The Desera Council had come up with welfare program meant to enrich the lives of its citizens, using over 50% of the taxes it collected to give back in some way or form to the people. It was set up in a special way, as each tribe was given a certain amount depending on its size. The tribal leaders would send their allocated amount to their people every month, in hopes of enriching their lives. It was the Deseran way of spending government money locally. Whether it was food, or help setting up a permanent home, the Council was willing and, for the most part, able to provide the help needed. It still needed a lot more help in terms of supporting itself, however, as it was difficult to find employees who were bright enough or able to take on the responsibilities they were asking for. In terms of spending, while the welfare program ate up a huge part of it, there was a lot of it going into maintaining the Kafra power plant and the water and sewage facility in the area. An additional E10 million was put towards a military budget, as well, and by the end of the year, the Deseran Armed Forces featured 500 soldiers assigned with the task of protecting the country and its leaders. Many tribes volunteered young men from its ranks, proudly showcasing some of the finest boys they had and sending them off to serve their new nation. At the end of the year, the Council found itself with approximately E300 million in access funds, a figure which completely blew the tribal leaders away. The Royal President had promised them wealth, and they had received it.

With so much access funds, the Desera Council put several projects up for debate in hopes of finding a suitable one that would benefit the country's infrastructure the most. Some mentioned drawing up a city plan for Kafra with paved roads, others mentioned upgrading the Kafra Seaport, amongst other things. Almost all agreed with Royal President Mallam, however, when he stated that an airport would be the most beneficial thing for the country as a whole. It was agreed that a small airport to the northeast of Kafra would be developed, and initial targets placed the estimated cost at E200 million. They would have to find a foreign company to do the job for them, but it would be well worth it.

That would wrap up an eventful Year One for Desera, one that started out with a bang, and ended with an even bigger one. The Royal family would take up residence in the Independence Hall temporarily, but there were talks of constructing a Presidential Residence in Kafra in the near future. Under the watchful eye of the Royal President and his council, Desera entered its second year as an independent nation full of hope!


The Desera Council Building, otherwise known as the Independence Hall.



Close-up of Kafra's center.



Kafra's center, looking east.



Kafra's center, looking west.



An aerial shot of Kafra, looking west.



An aerial shot of Kafra, looking north.



An aerial shot of Kafra, looking south.


Schulmanator

Great things come from small beginnings. I wish them well. :)
See the all-new National Capital Region!:http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=15118.0


nedalezz

Kafra International Airport (KIA)

The Kafra International Airport was the first major project undertaken by the Deseran government after its formation. Overseen by the Ministry of Transport (MoT), the airport was completed towards the end of Year Two. It was built to the northeast of the settlement, and capital city, of Kafra – in order to get there, one had to take Mallam Road north up to the Mallam Roundabout, and from there head east on Airport Drive. Its location was chosen with future planning in mind, as the Desera Council did not want to urban expansion to encroach on the airport, while also giving it ample space for upgrading should it be required in the future.

Planning for the KIA project began in Year One, and it cost the Deseran government approximately E200 million upon completion. After the declaration of the completed project, the MoT created its first branch, the Desera Aviation Authority (DAA), which assumed full responsibility of the airport in terms of management and future planning and development. The DAA was also given the go ahead to begin putting forward a plan for a national airline at the end of Year Two in celebration of the airport's completion.

The airport was designed to handle around 3 million passengers annually at maximum capacity – at the time of its completion, the largest town in Desera, the capital city of Kafra, had only 1,200 people, so it was obviously built for long term projections. Five on-ramp gates were constructed, and the runway measured 3,443 meters in length. At the end of Year Two, only charter and private planes served the airport. The Deseran Armed Forces were also given offices in the airport, as KIA was to be their main base for the Desera Air Force.















art128

Nice to see you back, Nedal!

You've done some nice work with the new town. Looking all great. Good job as well with the airport, though it could use some more work on the taxiways and runways.
I'll take a quiet life... A handshake of carbon monoxide.

Props & Texture Catalog

nedalezz

Thanks, art128 - I must admit, I am no airport expert, so I have no idea where all the lines and such go! I hope it looked realistic enough!


Year Two

In the first real test for the Desera Council, Royal President Sidebe Mallam's delegates were to construct the Kafra International Airport, an E200 million project that would take all of the council's resources to finish. The Royal President was nervous and worried that they might break under the pressure and responsibility of such a project – after all, it had barely been a year since the Desera Council had been established, putting together the tribal leaders of the new nation in hopes of creating a better future for all. These were the same tribal leaders who had fought battles against one another, whose fore-fathers had fought gone to war against one another, so the anxiety was justified.

It was not all smooth sailing, but the project did get completed on time, and by the end of Year Two, Desera had a capable, relatively modern airport up and running. The sub-contractors were all European, but by request of the Royal President, they had to employ as many laborers as they could from the country, something which they did. That alone swelled up Kafra's population from 770 to almost 1,300 over the course of the year, prompting the government to put some money into the development of basic infrastructure of the town. The size of the airport being constructed in accordance to the town of Kafra baffled the sub-contractors, who all advised that building an airport that could accommodate 3 million passengers annually was a horrible investment considering the tiny population of the town it was accommodating. The Royal President insisted, however, that the construction continue, stating that the area would outgrow the airport a lot sooner than anyone thought.

The next logical step after developing the airport was to get planes flying into it, something which would again be up to the Desera Council. Earlier in the year, the Ministry of Transportation (which was the first ministry formed under the new council) founded the Desera Aviation Authority (DAA) to handle, maintain, and develop the Kafra International Airport and anything aviation related in the country. That theoretically also put them in charge of a national airline, if such a company was to be established. The Royal President had planned all along to introduce a plan to establish such an airline, patiently waiting for the completion of the airport to begin work on it. Now had the DAA to do the work for him, and an end of year meeting with the DAA was mostly about doing just that. The Royal President gave them a deadline of one year for the national airline to be operational, and was willing to finance the airline with up to E75 million to acquire planes and cover start-up costs.






The town of Kafra had three main landmarks at the end of Year Two- the Kafra Seaport, the Bahr Mosque, and the Desera Council Building, otherwise known as the Independence Hall. With the rapid growth of the town's population, the council invest around E2 million into basic infrastructure and the paving of the new Masjid Street, which was built to accommodate the new buildings that were coming up. Anyone with a little bit of money was buying a plot of land in Kafra and quickly building it into a house or story building, turning the area immediately north of the seaport into the heart of the capital city. The architecture was mixed, with American, Mediterranean, and Arabic influences all evident in the new construction.

Other than developing a national airline, the Desera Council also made plans to construct a building to house the Bank of Desera, which would be the nation's first operational bank. The bank would be 100% owned by the government, and to handle and operate the bank, the Desera Council created its second ministry, the Ministry of Finance. An initial capital of E20 million was to be put to start the bank off, with an additional E2 million to cover the cost of the building. A small marketing campaign was undertaken by the council advertising the benefits of banking to the local population.

The Royal President, however, was most insistent about two other projects: a small hospital and a school to serve up to the 12th Grade. Both projects were in the blueprints, but were not as of yet finalized. The announcement for both of them was made in the new government-owned newspaper, the Kafra Times, and was met with much excitement from the locals. It was estimated that a large number of nomadic families would come to Kafra to settle simply for the healthcare alone, and as such, the council had to plan accordingly. It was still unclear how the healthcare and educational systems were going to work, but the Royal President wanted it to be fair to the people. Some in the council favored for them to be free, others felt they needed the income from them.

Kafra had exactly 1,231 residents at the end of Year Two, up from 770 just one year before that. The GDP per capita of the country had improved slightly to $2,071. The Desera Council spent more than it made this year, but the surplus from Year One made sure that there was still approximately E250 million in the coffers after all the projects had been accounted for. The total population of Desera was now 5,060,394. 



Kafra, looking south.


Central Kafra, looking north.



Kafra, looking north.



Central Kafra, looking west.



Aerial of Kafra, looking west.



Aerial of Kafra, looking north.

art128

Ah, yes indeed it looked realistic enough I'd say ! Though I'm sure if you look at some airports over Google Earth, you'll see it's quite easy to reproduce the placing and all. For instance, just behind the planes, you see that yellow line? it needs to be joint to the one on the taxiway. Also, be careful of the texture when you place the pieces, look we can see the white tile and then just before the taxiway we have the grey cement texture. if you scroll down the airport menu you'll see you have the pieces with the white tiles to put there. Also you need another " bridge " from the runway to the taxiway halfway at the top.


About this update, nice grow and new developments. Your two power line are not joined together, be careful. Also, try to add a transformation building to add more realism. :)
I'll take a quiet life... A handshake of carbon monoxide.

Props & Texture Catalog

nedalezz

The Land of Desera is located off the western coast of Africa, to the north of the Cape Verde Islands and south-west of the Canary Islands. The climate is dry and arid, making for a desert like setting across the country. It is made up of one large island (also called Desera), and several smaller islands surrounding it.


RickD

What a very pleasant surprise to see your new updates. I must admit that I have not read everything yet, but the pictures look great. I promise I'll read the text on the weekend when I have more time.
My name is Raphael.
Visit my MD: Empire Bay (My old MD: Santa Barbara County)

nedalezz

Year Three

The biggest happening in Year Three was, bar none, the commencement of service by Desera Airlines. Having taken delivery of a brand new Airbus 320-200, the airline began flying to six destinations: London, Paris, Dakar, Abidjan, Accra, and Lagos. The European destinations were twice weekly non-stop flights, called flights NA0001 and NA0002. The third flight, NA0003, was Kafra-Dakar-Abidjan-Dakar-Kafra, operated once a week to the two francophone capitals of West Africa. The final flight, serving Accra and Lagos, was also flown once a week to the two largest English speaking cities in West Africa.

The airline was heralded as a huge success by the Desera Council, and saw almost maximum capacity in each of its flights since it began operating. The Royal President Sidebe Mallam flew in the inaugural flight to London, arriving in the United Kingdom for the first time in hopes of finding investment to further increase the oil production in Desera. The West African flights saw many foreign traders coming in to invest in the new country, having heard of the low taxes and lack of import duty. Overall, the airline was, indeed, a resounding success and a project well done by the Ministry of Transportation and the Desara Aviation Authority, one that brought in the admiration and approval of the Royal President.





Kafra's population during Year Three had jumped from 1,231 to 5,183 – a remarkable rate of growth that had the town's population more than quadruple in just twelve months. Most of the development were small clay and tin houses that were extremely cheap to construct, and were done without the approval of the Desera Council or acquiring the land they sat on. For the time being, the council was turning a blind eye towards these happenings, in hopes of continuing the expansion of the town.

In the southern part of the town, closest to the coast, the houses constructed were mostly by fishermen who had found the comfort of life in Kafra much kinder than the harsh life in the rural desert. Every morning, hundreds of small wooden boats would come in from the Atlantic with fresh fish, the market of which could be found on Masjid Street, opposite the newly constructed Kafra Church of Peace. The nicer part of town was more central - whenever a land was sold legally through the government, the Desera Council would send out the Kafra Police to clear the plot of any illegal dwellers, but they would simply move to an area further out and construct yet another illegal house.

Speaking the Kafra Church of Peace, its construction was an initiative taken by the Desera Council to make sure that the small but growing Christian population in the country had a place of worship. In an effort to show solidarity between its people, it chose to construct the church just opposite the Bahr Mosque, on the corner of Masjid Street and 1st Street. The project cost around E5 million to be completed and was aptly named the Kafra Church of Peace, a symbolic name that stood for the Deseran hope that they would always have peace.


The Kafra Church of Peace and Bahr Mosque.




Another project that the Desera Council, through the Ministry of Finance, was the Bank of Desera, on the corner of Mallam Road and the newly constructed Bank Street. It was situated just opposite the Independence Hall, and was the first financial institution to be operation in the country. It was own fully by the Desera Council, and at the time of its completion, it was the most modern building in the entire country, save for Terminal One at the Kafra International Airport.


The Bank of Desera and Independence Hall.



It was not all rosy behind the scenes, however – constant bickering between the tribal leaders in the Desera Council had left the Royal President in a bind. He was finding it impossible to please everyone, and some were even raising silent accusations that the Royal President was favoring his Mallam tribe more than the others. The Desera Council needed order and control, but that was difficult to do without alienating some of the tribes. In order for the council to continue to succeed, there had to be representatives of the majority of the tribes, especially the larger ones. It was still at a point where the bickering was just that, but if the disagreements continued, then the consequences would be more dire, especially as the country began to flourish.

For what it was worth, however, they were doing a decent job in Kafra and beyond. Small settlements were getting power and running water, as well as local representative offices of the Desera Council all over the country. In Kafra, even the illegal houses were all connected to the grid, they were putting a lot of money into developing the road network within the town to further facilitate its planned growth. They had also finally put in plans to begin construction on the Kafra Preparatory School and the Kafra Public Hospital. Education would be free to the public save for the E100 enrollment fee, but healthcare would not be. In response to that, however, the government would introduce the National Health Insurance (NHI), which would grant free healthcare for anyone registered with it.

The Royal President's trip to Europe to bring in further investment into the country went reasonably well – his main aim was to increase the production of oil from 5,000 barrels a day to at least 10,000, and it looked like it was going to be able to happen. Although Desera was still seeing surpluses in its budgets (at the end of Year Three, it had around E500 million), it was also undertaking small projects that did not cost much. In order to develop the country, it would take a lot more than what they were making now to help facilitate that, and for that to happen, more oil needed to be exported.


The Kafra Seaport, looking north.



Central Kafra, looking south.



Kafra, looking west.



Kafra, looking south.



Aerial of Kafra, looking south.



Aerial of Kafra, looking north.



Artistic shot of Kafra.



Mosaic of Kafra.

nedalezz

Year Four

From nothing to over ten thousand people in just four years – what an accomplishment. The Royal President Sidebe Mallam reflected back at the beginnings of Kafra, when ground was broken on the Kafra Powerplant and the Kafra Seaport. It had come a long way since then – granted, most of the growth was unplanned and chaotic, with shanty towns covering all corners of the capital city, but there was also beauty. The Independence Hall, which also served as the seat of the Desera Council and the Royal Residence, was the first permanent building constructed inside of Kafra, surrounded by green grass, a rare sight in the hostile desert. The Bahr Mosque, although small compared to other such buildings around the world, was the heart of the town, along with the Kafra Church of Peace. Around them were the residences of the tribal leaders and the small but growing middle class of Kafra. The streets that their homes sat on were lined with trees, and their gardens lush with greenery.

Few knew, but Royal President Mallam had become obsessed with European architecture after visiting London and Paris the previous year. He wanted Deseran architecture to mimic those 18th and 19th century buildings he saw, and imagined a day that Kafra would be as steeped in history as those two capitals. The Independence Hall itself was designed after a similar building that stood in Philadelphia in the United States, and there were quite a few buildings in Kafra that were being constructed in that American/European 19th century style. Still, most of the town was made of houses one would generally find the poorer areas of a North African/Middle Eastern town, which made sense because of Desera's large Arabic heritage and influence. The Royal President quite disliked the look of the town, but in order to grow the country, he knew he had to first establish a capital city worth something, and for that he needed population.




In terms of civic infrastructure, the capital city of Kafra had the necessities – the Desera Council had just completed the Kafra Public Hospital and the Kafra Preparatory School, at the cost of E10 million and E5 million, respectively. While the only fee a family had to pay for public education was the E100 enrollment charge per child, healthcare was not free. Instead, the Desera Council devised the National Healthcare Insurance (NHI) company, which was a wholly own government subsidy. Anyone covered with the NHI would receive free healthcare at the Kafra Public Hospital, and the fees were made very affordable on purpose so that the general population could receive the healthcare they needed.

Commercial activity had also become relevant in Kafra, with people from all over the country coming down to central Kafra to do business, both with fellow Deserans and foreigners. A lot of Kafrawis (Kafrawi is the name given to residents of the capital city) where supporting themselves and families through fishing, and the Kafra Fish Market had become an extremely busy place, especially during the morning. Overall, there was no question it was the commercial hub of Desera, and there was even a few companies who had constructed warehousing down the western end of Masjid Street, mostly to store and wholesale food stuff products.

The population of Kafra at the end of Year Four was officially listed at 10,888, again doubling in size in just one year's time. The Royal President knew steps had to be taken to facilitate planned urban growth, and the road network in Kafra had to be upgraded in order for such growth to happen. The Desera Council had some excess money in the coffers, and it was time to spend them. Almost E30 million were being put into building 22 branches of the Bank of Desera around the country. A further E10 was going to be invested in further developing the road network in and around Kafra. The biggest project to be undertaken in the coming year, however, was the contruction of the Kafra Palace Hotel, a government owned hotel that was going to cost about E80 million upon completion. With Kafra growing so fast, and the oil industry also poised for growth in the next few years, the council expected to see more high-end visitors to Desera, and needed a place to put them. The private sector was still very young and weak, making such developments impossible to fund, so it was up to the council to make it.



The Kafra Palace Hotel project, to the east of the town.[/i]















A sandy morning as a small storm descends on Kafra during the dying hours of the night.