Istalia

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Istalia: a trip to a country in full reconstruction

The Reconstruction plan between humanitarian emergencies, debts and a ruined lands on the eve of elections

August 5622

Almost three years have passed since the end of the Patriotic War of Liberation, as the long conflict that has plagued Istalia and its people for twenty years has been officially defined, and there is only one month left until the next elections, which will be the second under the new regime of the Imperial State of Istalia, and will be the true litmus test of Floria Monaldi's Government, the occasion to verify whether the Istalians are satisfied or not with the measures implemented by the Government to deal with the reconstruction.

In January 5620, after the euphoria of victory had subsided, the Government presented its plan for the post-war reconstruction of the country, officially called "Great National Program for Reconstruction and Recovery" but unofficially called "Astori-Malvasio Plan", from the names of the two main creators leading the ad hoc committee created by the Government. It is a strategy for rapid, sustainable and growth-oriented reconstruction based on four main pillars: political and economic stability, infrastructural reconstruction, industrial and technological relaunch, and international openness.

The plan was outlined taking into account the characteristics of the country that despite the absence of great strategic natural resources can boast a high level of education and training by virtue of its history, the great entrepreneurial and work-oriented propensity that has always distinguished the Istalians, as well as the matchless artistic heritage and the strong scientific tradition of the country.

The Four Pillars of the Reconstruction Plan

1. Political and Economic Stability

This has been considered the fundamental starting point to give new impetus to the country, to attract and encourage investments and guarantee growth, and to pursue this objective the Guvernement has aimed to:

• Stabilize the currency and public finances through the reconstitution of an independent central bank, the "Imperial Banca Centrale d'Istalia" (Imperial Central Bank of Istalia), which has implemented monetary policies to pursue a prudent management of inflation and a reduction of the public deficit through a careful and rigorous fiscal policy.
  
• Restructuring the debt accumulated over the years of war with creditors has engaged all the Ministries involved in constant and sometimes exhausting negotiations to extend the deadlines or reduce the interests on war bonds, proposing payments linked to economic growth.
  
• The creation and stabilization of an independent, transparent and reliable legal system and the streamlining of the bureaucracy inherited from the Social Republic always to favor domestic and foreign investments.
  

2. Infrastructure Reconstruction

Infrastructure reconstruction has obviously been considered a crucial point to relaunch the country's economy, attract investments and re-improve the quality of life of citizens. Considering that over half of the infrastructures have been destroyed and reduced to ruins, it was necessary to create a detailed plan that took into account efficiency, sustainability and financeability.

The "Imperial Ente per la Ricostruzione Nazionale" (Imperial Authority for National Reconstruction), the IMERIN, was created, with special powers to coordinate the work, prevent corruption and ensure transparency. IMERIN completely absorbed the Central Institute of Finance and Investment of the Socialist Republic, it purchased the shares of some of the largest banking institutions in the country, such as the Banco Nazionale Popolare di Romula, Fincredit Group and Cassa Nazionale di Risparmio (all institutions already partly controlled by the state under the Socialist Republic), which were in precarious if not drastic financial situations to initiate a restructuring of the Institutes and to take control of the state holdings they owned on behalf of the state. By absorbing the Central Institute of Finance and Investment and the industrial holdings of the country's largest financial groups, IMERIN became the owner of over 20% of the country's entire share capital, controlling virtually all state-owned companies of Socialist heritage, AUDISS included, the once largest megacorporation of the country and among the largest worldwide under the Third Empire, and a considerable portion of the former public-private companies and the few remaining private ones (still authorized under the Social Republic for their efficiency and strategic role).

By mobilizing the most important economic resources of the country, IMERIN has become the real operational body of the Astori-Malvasia Plan, which has given priority to key infrastructures (transport, energy and telecommunications), essential to ensure economic functioning, but in the design and selection of these strategic projects IMERIN has focused on modern and sustainable infrastructures, such as smart cities designed with sustainability criteria, electric mobility and green spaces, sustainable construction through the use of low environmental impact materials and anti-seismic solutions, infrastructure control systems through the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence to prevent failures and reduce maintenance costs.

These are the main infrastructure projects carried out by IMERIN divided by sector:

• Transport and Logistics
  

The repair or total reconstruction of the road and railway network has begun, intervening on the main motorways and railways with particular attention to the connections between cities and production areas.

As regards ports and airports, essential for foreign trade, rebuilt and renovetion works has started using modern technologies, especially with regard to logistics and rapid customs clearance.

For urban public transport, as mentioned, the focus has been on shared transport, with the reconstruction of subways, trams, light rails, metrorails, and electric buses or powered by low environmental impact fuels. The strengthening of public transport will be essential to reduce congestion and improve mobility in cities.

• Energy and Water Networks
  

Everything has been focused on renewable energy with the financing and construction of solar, wind and hydroelectric plants, but to pursue the goal of energy independence the Government aims for the country, it has also decided to focus on the latest generation of nuclear power.

The interventions on the water network is an opportunity for its modernization with the implementation of smart grids to reduce waste and improve distribution.

Priority has been given to the reconstruction of aqueducts and purification systems, also with wastewater recycling technologies.

• Telecommunications and Digitalization
  

Fiber optics and reconstruction of the network based on the latest technologies to relaunch the digital economy and attract technology companies has been a fundamental point on which to intervene.

The push for the digitalization of the public administration aims to reduce bureaucracy and ensure greater efficiency to create a favorable environment for investments, which have been aimed at incentivizing tech companies through incentives for digital startups and for companies that invest in the digital transformation of the country.

Despite the large role of the public sector, mixed public-private financing has been planned for the reconstruction, attracting foreign capital and domestic private investments. The mixed financing plan, therefore, uses public funds from international loans, institutional investors, through long-term bonds guaranteed by the State and linked to economic growth, and a share of the state budget; private investments are obtained through public-private partnerships (PPP) and long-term concessions. To these have been added donations and international aid in collaboration with various organizations aimed at development and financial and economic support.

The reconstruction plan, moreover, had the additional objective of promoting work and training, with the large public works plan also designed to absorb unemployment and retrain workers and former combatants.

3. Industrial and Technological Recovery

As already mentioned, the focus of the Astori-Malvasio Plan was on high value-added sectors and investments have been planned in the sectors of technological development and scientific research, in the sectors of renewable energy, biomedicine, advanced engineering, artificial intelligence and precision manufacturing.

Special economic zones were created in almost all cities of the country to favor startups and technology companies by offering them tax and bureaucratic incentives for the creation and growth of innovative companies.

Then the focus was on the enhancement of human capital by directing resources to universities and research centers.

4. International Opening and Tourism

The Government is working hard for the definitive removal of all sanctions that have affected the country due to the Nevio Russo War and for the reintegration of the country into global markets, through active diplomacy to reopen trade and sign economic agreements.

Fortunately, the conflict spared the country's great historical and artistic centers and since the cultural and natural heritage of the country is one of the jewels and most exclusive resources of Istalia, the Government has aimed to encourage high-level cultural tourism and to create international events to generate revenue. Another objective pursued by the Government has been the development of policies, mainly offering tax breaks and professional opportunities, to convince for the repatriation all those expatriate Istalians who left the country during the war but also under the Seventh Republic and the Socialist Republic to escape the economic depression that caused the country to collapse to the bottom of the international rankings (the 5560 report caused a veritable scandal and among the others it can be considered one of the motivations behind the authoritarian shift of the Socialist Republic unable to face such a poor situation).