The straight road leaves Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, and runs along the Blue Nile bordered by fertile land. Thirty kilometres to the south-east, in the direction of Wad Madani, vast tin-roofed hangars pierce the horizon. This 250-hectare industrial park borders the tarred road, nestled between the river and the fields. The car park is swarming with trucks coming and going, packed with hard-working workers. One building produces 1,000 tonnes of low-voltage electrical cables every month, another