New Waters [OPEN]

(Cairoçes, Colette) - President Mackenzie Janssens-Dubois has announced his unveiling of a project just off the coast of the three port capitals. This unveiling is an unprecedented course of action in Colech history, and signals the government’s intent to redefine Colette’s role in global trade and diplomacy. The administration described the initiative as “the most ambitious infrastructural leap since national unification,” marking a symbolic and economic turning point for the nation. Internal observers say the move could elevate Colette into the top tier of world financial hubs within the decade.

Sprinkled in between the two major financial centres of Londras and Auréonce, this new world trade centre, named Centre Commercial Colette, is expected to open its doors at the end of summer 2026. The plans were approved by the Colech National Congress just last Thursday in a 254-45 vote. The trade centre will also provide proximity to the capital, Côte d'Elaine, as well as several other major cities along waterfronts and harbours. It will be headlined by three buildings: the Macron Centre of International Trade, the Banque Auréonce Internationale, and Regents Hall. There will be a hotel on board and a ship terminal to provide access to Londras, Cairoçes, Côte d'Elaine and Auréonce.

Beyond its economic magnitude, Centre Commercial Colette is expected to reshape the country’s political geography. Analysts note that the island’s strategic placement — anchored between Londras and Auréonce while remaining within reach of Cairoçes — will inevitably shift commercial traffic and administrative attention toward the tri-coastal corridor, connecting the two peninsulas of Colette and the island for the better. Critics in the National Congress have raised concerns about potential overcrowding and maritime congestion. However, the Ministry of Transport insists that the design incorporates “modern nautical flow systems” to minimise disruption.

Supporters argue that the concentration of diplomatic, economic, and transport hubs in a single engineered district will streamline international negotiations and accelerate foreign investment. However, many activists in the cities argue that this trade centre undermines the three coastal hubs' national influence.

Environmental groups, nonetheless, have expressed reservations and concerns about the project’s long-term sustainability. Several coastal research institutes within Colette have called for expanded environmental impact studies, citing risks to marine biodiversity and coastal erosion along Auréonce's eastern channel. President Janssens-Dubois has promised that the construction will adhere to “the most rigorous ecological standards in the modern world,” and the Ministry of the Environment has already announced partnerships with leading oceanographic universities to monitor the build. Despite these concerns, early polling conducted by ABC indicates that nearly seventy-one per cent (71%) of Colech citizens support the initiative, framing it as a defining step toward national modernisation and a statement of Colette’s ambitions on the world stage.

Janssens-Dubois also made it a point to alert the international community that Colette will "not stand down," and find these new developments "increasingly important" towards the survival of Colette's economy.

President Janssens-Dubois has also left the following statement for the world: