Chapter 509 Getting Started
As soon as the British taught East Africa a lesson, Germany came to find them. However, the Germans obviously would not be unhappy with the British. At this time, the relationship between the two families was still maintaining well on the surface.
“Your Majesty Constantine, do you need help from Germany? We have heard about the British sanctions on East Africa, which is not very friendly to the development of your country.” Ambassador Klein asked.
"Thank you for your concern. If necessary, we will not be polite." Constantine rejected Germany's kindness.
In fact, there is really nothing to seek in East Africa now. If it were more than ten years ago, East Africa would definitely not be like this. Now times have changed.
This makes Klein feel even more regretful. If Germany could help East Africa in the early stages of its establishment, it might be able to bring a strong ally to Germany in the future. Of course, Germany prefers a puppet regime, and East Africa obviously has its own interests and does not want to be a follower of other countries.
East Africa is off to a pretty good start now. After more than ten years, it has once again appeared in the international community and is no longer the weak East Africa it once was.
…
Southern urban area of Dar es Salaam.
“Woo…”
As the railway entered the station, stevedores began to unload the resources transported from the inland into the carriages, then piled them on oxcarts, and then headed towards the industrial park.
Most of these materials are directly exported in the Xingang industrial zone, or processed and re-exported, or East Africa itself digests them.
Therefore, in the southern urban area of Dar es Salaam, there are many large chimneys. The billowing black smoke pollutes the African sky, blocking the clouds and the sun. Industrial sewage flows into the sea along the pipes. The sea water at the sewage outlet is spicy to the eyes and smells. The entire southern urban area of Dar es Salaam is like cyberpunk in previous cultural works, full of violent aesthetics.
It looks spectacular, but it is too harmful to the environment. Fortunately, there is no industry in the First Town. Otherwise, with this level of pollution, Ernst would definitely have to move.
Director of the Second Cable Factory in Dar es Salaam, Stephen felt very happy when he saw the carts of copper ore being pulled into the warehouse, which meant that the Second Factory could also start production.
“Since the end of the East-Portuguese War, the central railway has resumed operation. Now copper ore can be continuously transported from the interior to Dar es Salaam. This year, we can finally further expand scale production.”
“In the past, due to the war, raw materials were given priority to the first factory. Now our second factory can finally benefit from the railway.”
During the East-Portuguese War, the Central Railway was requisitioned by the military, which had a certain impact on production in East Africa. Among them, copper mines, rubber and tobacco were greatly affected.
Copper ore and rubber are both important raw materials for cable production, so the Central Railway first supports the military, which will definitely restrict the development of the power industry. However, the Central Railway has relatively high specifications and can operate both military and economic needs at the same time, but the trains are tight. Some.
Adhering to the principle that eggs cannot be put in one basket, two new cable factories have been added in Mbeya and Lubumbashi. One of the cable factories is controlled by the East African National Electricity Company, and three are controlled by the Hechingen Electricity Company. East Africa's power manufacturing sector has quietly taken off, with these four cable factories located along the Central Railway.
"Our current market supply is mainly from the Far East and the domestic part. As for the foreign market, the product quality is not enough to support exports, and the yield rate is worse than that of the German region." In fact, East Africa's cable production capacity is not enough, but It is better to give priority to customer needs than to use it yourself.
Hence, the quality of cables in East Africa is a little worse, but they can still be sold at a higher price, especially in less economically developed areas. They don’t need high-end products and their priority is price.
The mid-to-high-end power manufacturing industry is mainly distributed in the United States and Germany.
Although Ernst owned the Hechingen Electric Power Company and had many factories and R&D departments in Germany and Austria, it was impossible to move directly to East Africa.
Therefore, industries with low technical content or that are not suitable for Germany and Austria should be placed in East Africa first, such as cable production. After all, East Africa has more advantages in raw material production.
The main materials of cables are copper and aluminum. The price of aluminum is still high, so cheap copper ore has become the first choice.
Of course, Ernst knows that electrolytic aluminum can reduce the production cost of aluminum on a large scale, but electricity prices are not cheap now.
Electricity is no joke as a high-end technology industry. Unlike in the past life, power plants were rare items. The first power plant in the previous life was built in 1882. Therefore, there is no surplus of electricity now. It can even be said to be in extreme shortage. As the saying goes, things are rare. Rare is more expensive. When there is a shortage of electricity, the price of electricity will naturally be expensive.
So now power investment is definitely a high-input and high-risk industry. This may be the reason why countries such as Britain and France have been surpassed in the power field.
Just like the early days of tram promotion in previous generations, it was extremely difficult. No one could predict how fast technology would develop. In particular, many entrepreneurs, who specialize in business, may not have any foresight on the scientific outlook on development.
Of course, once someone makes a breakthrough, the capital will be the most bloody, and they will quickly occupy the new market. This is how the Hechingen Electric Power Company developed.
“In order to support the development of enterprises, the government plans to expand investment in the power industry in East Africa, including communications, lighting, etc., and plans to connect telegraphs between various cities and some important towns, including Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, and Nairobi. Renovation of lighting systems in three cities.”
"This is our initiative to cultivate the domestic electricity market. In fact, the consumer demand in East Africa is not strong and has been in a state of deflation for a long time. However, doing so in the early stage will not be a big problem. From East Africa to the present, in just a dozen years, even if Opening up the market will not create a larger consumer market than other countries in the world, so all this must be promoted by the government."
The richest person in East Africa is the Hechingen royal family, followed by the East African government. As for the gap between the rich and the poor of others, the gap between the rich and the poor is really not big, so the development of the power industry must rely on the joint efforts of the Hechingen Consortium and the East African government.
Take the issue of electricity demand as an example. Ordinary people in East Africa cannot afford it, nor do they have the desire to consume in this area. They go to bed early and get up early to live a healthy life. In the final analysis, they do not have rich forms of entertainment.
“Government agencies, factories, and post offices are the largest consumers of electricity in East Africa. We must first provide them with universal access to electricity, followed by cities, especially Soga and First Town, which must be the first to electrify.”
Sogana is a science and technology city in East Africa, so there is no problem in distributing good things first. It also reflects the importance that the Hechingen royal family attaches to scientific talents. As for the first town, it is based on political needs, and other cities depend on their economic strength.
According to economic strength, there are four cities: Dar es Salaam, Mbeya, Nairobi and Mombasa. Of course, some strategic locations can also be deployed in advance, mainly in the field of communications, to facilitate East Africa to monitor the surrounding environment, especially to guard against Portugal and the United Kingdom, such as the city of New Hamburg in the southernmost part of East Africa.
(End of this chapter)