Chapter 509 Getting Started

Just as Britain taught East Africa a lesson, Germany came knocking. However, the Germans obviously would not be unhappy with the British, and the relationship between the two countries seemed to be maintained well at this time.

"Your Majesty Constantine, do you need Germany's help? We have heard about Britain's sanctions on East Africa, which is not very friendly to the development of your country." Ambassador Klein asked.

"Thank you for your concern. If you need anything, we will not be polite." Constantine rejected Germany's kindness.

In fact, there is really nothing to beg for in East Africa now. If it were a dozen years ago, East Africa would definitely not be like this. Now times have changed.

This made Klein feel even more regretful. If Germany could provide assistance in the early stages of East Africa's establishment, it might have given Germany a powerful ally in the future. Of course, Germany wanted a puppet regime, and East Africa obviously had its own interests and did not want to be a follower of other countries.

East Africa is now off to a very good start. After hiding for more than a decade, it has reappeared in the international community and is no longer the weak East Africa of the past.

…

South urban area of ​​Dar es Salaam.

“Woo…”

As the railway entered the station, loaders and unloaders began to unload the resources transported from the inland from the carriages, then piled them on ox carts and headed towards the industrial park.

Most of these materials are directly exported from the industrial zone of Xingang, or processed and then exported, or consumed by East Africa itself.

Therefore, in the southern part of Dar es Salaam, there are huge chimneys standing tall, and the billowing black smoke pollutes the African sky, blocking out the sun. Industrial wastewater flows into the sea through pipes, and the seawater at the sewage outlet is stinging to the eyes and nose. The entire southern part of Dar es Salaam is like the cyberpunk in the cultural works of the previous life, full of violent aesthetics.

It looks spectacular, but it is very 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.

Stephen, the director of Dar es Salaam Cable Factory No. 2, was very pleased to see truckloads of copper ore being pulled into the warehouse, which meant that the factory No. 2 could start production.

"Since the end of the Portuguese-Eastern War, the Central Railway has resumed operation. Now copper ore can be continuously transported from the inland to Dar es Salaam. This year, we can finally further expand the scale of production."

"Before, due to the war, raw materials were given priority to Factory 1. Now our Factory 2 can finally benefit from the railway."

During the Portuguese-Eastern War, the Central Railway was requisitioned by the military, which had a certain impact on production in East Africa, among which copper, rubber and tobacco were the three major categories most 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 simultaneously to meet military and economic needs, but the carriages are a bit tight.

Now that the war is over, transportation capacity has been restored, copper and rubber are in abundance, and the expansion of the Dar es Salaam Phase II Cable Factory has also begun.

Adhering to the principle that all eggs should not be put in one basket, two new cable factories were added in Mbeya and Lubumbashi. One of the cable factories was controlled by the East African National Electric Power Company, and the other three were controlled by the Hechingen Power Company. The East African power manufacturing sector started quietly. These four cable factories are all located along the central railway.

"Our current market supply is mainly in the Far East and domestic markets. As for foreign markets, product quality is not yet sufficient to support exports, and the yield rate is lower than that in Germany."

In fact, East Africa’s cable production capacity is not enough for its own use, but compared to self-use, it is better to give priority to meeting customer needs.

Therefore, the quality of East African cables is a little worse, but they can still be sold at a high price, especially in economically underdeveloped areas. They do not 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 Company and had many factories and R&D departments in Germany and Austria, it was impossible for him to move them directly to East Africa.

Therefore, industries with low technological 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 the production of raw materials.

The main materials of cables are copper and aluminum. The price of aluminum is still not low, so cheap copper ore becomes the first choice.

Of course, Ernst knew that electrolytic aluminum could greatly reduce the production cost of aluminum, but electricity prices were not cheap now.

Electricity as a high-end technology industry is no joke. Unlike in the past, power plants are rare now. The first power plant in the past was built in 1882. Therefore, it is impossible for electricity to be in surplus now. It can even be said that it is extremely scarce. As the saying goes, scarce things are valuable. When there is a shortage of electricity, the price of electricity will naturally be expensive.

Therefore, electricity investment is definitely a high-investment and high-risk industry now, which may also be the reason why countries such as Britain and France have been surpassed in the electricity sector.

Just like the initial promotion of trams in the past, it was also extremely difficult and no one could predict how fast technology would develop, especially for many entrepreneurs who specialized in business and might not have any foresight about the scientific outlook on development.

Of course, once someone makes a breakthrough, capital will be the most bloody and will quickly occupy the new market. This is how the Heixingen 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. It plans to connect telegraphs between cities and some important towns, and to upgrade the lighting systems in Mombasa, Dar es Salaam and Nairobi."

"This is our initiative to cultivate the domestic electricity market. In fact, East Africa's consumer demand is not strong and has been in a state of deflation for a long time. However, this will not cause too many problems in the early stage. East Africa has only been a colony for more than ten years. Even if the market is liberalized, it is impossible to cultivate more consumer markets than other countries in the world. Therefore, all this still depends on the government's promotion."

The richest family in East Africa is the Hexingen royal family, followed by the East African government. As for other people, the gap between the rich and the poor is not that big, so the development of the power industry must rely on the joint efforts of the Hexingen consortium and the East African government.

For example, regarding the demand for electricity, ordinary people in East Africa certainly cannot afford it, nor do they have the desire to consume it. They prefer to go to bed early and get up early and live a healthy life. In the final analysis, there is a lack of rich forms of entertainment.

“Government offices, factories and post offices are the biggest consumers of electricity in East Africa. They should be provided with electricity first, followed by cities, especially Soga and the first town, which should be electrified first.”

Sogana is the science and technology city of East Africa, so there is no problem in giving priority to popularizing good things. It also reflects the importance the Hexingen royal family attaches to scientific talents. As for the first town, it is a political need, and other cities depend on economic strength.

In terms of economic strength, they are 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)