Necho's Canal Network

Necho's Canal is a waterway built by the Mameluke Sultanate of Egypt that allows light riverine traffic to move from the Red Sea to the Lower Nile. This opens up the possibility of trade between Europe and Asia without the need to go all the way around the African Continent. At best, to go around Africa from the central Med (Bay of Tunis) to India (Gulf of Oman) crosses 23 APs worth of seazones - and that is with optimized placement of conduit cities. Alternately, it only takes six APs when using the canal. Trade from Europe to China is completely impossible at the game's current Tech Level without the use of Egypt's Canal. Mindful that free-flowing trade is necessary for a stable political climate, Egypt is allowing limited use of the canal for trading purposes to all nations of the globe. As with all business arrangements, there are restrictions.

1) Trade Traffic Only

The Open policy of Necho's Canal only applies to the natural movement of MSP along specific trade routes. Any other use of the canal must be directly negotiated with Egypt. Ben can be contacted at: "ottoman.empire@gmail.com" for such negotiations.

Some uses of the Canal not covered:
  Governmental: Tracing the Command and Control Radius [CCR]..
  Supply: Tracing a Line of Communication [LoC].
  People: The movement of national leaders.
  Boats: The movement of warship or transport units.

2) Cartel Routes Only

Trade Routes going through the canal must be Cartel Routes under the control of a Merchant House. Currently, the Roma Fabrio have walked away from negotiations with Egypt over rights to the use of the Canal, so only the Merchants of El'Iskandria have access. All normal cartel conditions apply (See Cartel Trade) including Merchant Fees and Lease requirements.

3) Egyptian Tariff

In addition to Merchant House fees, all Cartel Routes requiring the use of the canal incur an additional 20% fee that goes directly to Egypt. That's right, Ben gets to skim an additional cut right off the top of every trade route. Egypt is responsible for the construction, maintenance, support and defense of the canal, and it is only fair that he sees some lucre for his trouble. Combined with Merchant fees, a 40% tariff might seem like a bitter pill to swallow. I urge everyone to run the numbers, however. A route getting you 60% of its value is much better than a route you are unable to open at all. And don't forget the benefits beyond gold. The additional Tech Points that come with all the Cartel Trade is a significant bonus. More trade routes mean more natural MSP growth for your nation. And nations are fully encouraged to use the canal for only as long as they have to. Once a nation has the proper conduits around Africa, see if you can't do it better on your own.