Chapter 1572 Central and Eastern Industrial Cluster
Since the Great Depression of 1929, totalitarian forces in the world have expanded rapidly, as manifested in the rise to power of extreme nationalist parties in Europe, the militaryization of South America, and so on.
All this shows that since the end of the 19th century, the world colonial system built by Britain and France has been on the brink of collapse.
This world order system includes many areas such as military, economy, ideology, and culture. The rise of totalitarian forces shows that the opportunity for the collapse of the old international order in the ideological field has arrived.
Among these areas, the first to collapse was the economy. Since the end of the 19th century, countries such as Germany, the United States, East Africa and the Soviet Union have risen in economy and industry, which has disrupted the original world economic order.
The collapse of the economic order has led to the strengthening and awakening of national consciousness in developing countries and backward regions. Developing countries are demanding a redistribution of spoils, while countries and nations in backward regions are demanding independence.
If one wants to completely overthrow the old international order, there is only one last step left, which is to break the military hegemony of the old international order headed by Britain and France.
In short, the war is slowly approaching. Before the new spoils division meeting, whoever can gain more military advantages will be able to seize the initiative.
This is also why East Africa attaches great importance to the military talents of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This is an excellent opportunity for East Africa to study the development of modern European warfare.
…
July 5, 1934.
East Africa, Lower Zambezi.
Since the construction of the Cahora Bassa Dam began, the entire area in the lower Zambezi region has become unusually lively and busy. This project itself carries the strategic intention of changing the economic landscape of East Africa.
Reservoir construction involves electricity consumption, water resource allocation, shipping, and other issues directly related to the development of surrounding towns and villages. Therefore, the construction of the Cahora Bassa Reservoir is a systematic project.
Today, the new Tete River Bridge was officially completed.
This bridge across the Zambezi River is 892 meters long and uses a suspension structure. It is currently the first suspension bridge in East Africa and ranks first in length.
The reason why it is temporary is that the downstream Xindai City River Bridge is planned to be longer than it and also adopts a suspension structure. However, due to technical problems, the construction started one and a half years later than the Tete City River Bridge.
The main technical difficulty of the Xindai River Bridge is wind resistance. The East African coast is also vulnerable to typhoons. In the last century, the southeastern coastal areas such as Beira were hit by typhoons.
Therefore, for safety reasons, East Africa has set up a special scientific research team to overcome this problem and improve the wind resistance of the Chende River Bridge. In addition, Chende is located in the Zambezi River Delta, and its geological structure is different from that of Tete. The soil is softer, so it is necessary to deal with problems such as subsidence.
"The construction of the Tete River Bridge will be more conducive to the future development of the Tete coast, break the geographical isolation of the urban area, help urban expansion, and drive the development of the area south of the river." At the press conference, Okon, mayor of Tete City in East Africa, said.
“At the same time, once this new bridge across the river is built and the new railway bridge is completed, the old Tete bridge will also be ready for demolition.”
“This will ensure the compatibility of Tete’s land and shipping transportation, thus laying the foundation for Tete’s status as an important national water and land hub.”
Originally, there was a dual-use railway and highway bridge built in Tete, which was completed during the First Five-Year Plan in East Africa, against the backdrop of the accelerated construction of railways across East Africa at that time.
At that time, the national railway network in East Africa was taking shape rapidly, and Tete had already been designated as an important industrial city in East Africa in the future and a new steel production base. Therefore, the transportation development of Tete was naturally a top priority in the First Five-Year Plan period in East Africa.
However, due to the limitations of technology at the time, the Tete Railway Bridge did not provide redundant space for subsequent river navigation. Therefore, after the Zambezi River navigation plan was implemented, this railway bridge became a major obstacle.
However, it is not too late to demolish it now. Since the construction of the Tete Railway Bridge, it has served Tete and the East African Railway for nearly 30 years. It has long recovered its costs and its service life is almost up. Originally, the Tete Railway Bridge was expected to have a lifespan of 30 to 40 years. Even if it is not demolished now, it will need reinforcement and maintenance in the future.
As for why the design life is so short, it should be said that during the planned economy period in East Africa, many projects were inherently short-sighted.
Of course, in the environment at that time, the fact that large-scale engineering projects in East Africa were eager for quick success and instant benefits was not a disadvantage. After all, East Africa's economic development was rapid, while its transportation was very backward. The conflict between the two just required East Africa to adopt this development model.
Time waits for no one when it comes to economic development opportunities. Once you miss this opportunity, it may be a long time before you can wait for it again.
Therefore, even though many technologies in East Africa did not meet the standards and materials were not in place at the time, they had to be launched quickly to meet the needs of the rapid economic development at the time.
Of course, the East African government did not forget this point later, and during the economic adjustments in the 1920s, these hidden dangers were gradually identified.
Today, we are actually in the implementation stage of the second round of infrastructure renewal in East Africa.
Compared to thirty years ago, during the First Five-Year Plan, conditions in East Africa have changed dramatically. The workforce is more specialized, the materials sector is well-stocked and has seen numerous breakthroughs. Industrial production capacity is robust, construction materials are plentiful, technology and equipment are more advanced, and mechanization is more advanced.
This means that in this round of infrastructure construction, East African projects are moving towards higher quality requirements, while taking into account multiple factors such as humanities and economy.
This is in contrast to the current Soviet industrialization. During the rapid industrialization stage, the Soviet Union paid more attention to practicality, and aesthetics, comfort, and even safety were forced to be sacrificed.
But this is the inevitable path for early industrialized countries. If we are too cautious and take our time to do things, it will be impossible to achieve rapid economic and industrial development.
After all, economic and industrial development not only considers internal factors, but also external factors. In the global market, countries all over the world are competing fiercely, and any country that slows down will pay a price, unless it can ensure that its geographical location is safe and will not be involved in colonial aggression and war, or does not care about foreign economic development issues.
Take East Africa for example. Without its early industrial pursuit of quick success and instant benefits, it would not have been possible for East Africa to quickly become a world power in just two or three decades.
If a country does not become a strong country, it will be beaten before the early 20th century, and this is even more so in the late 19th century before the 20th century.
A typical example is the South African War. At that time, East Africa had already begun to take shape as a great power in the international community, but it was still not immune to bullying by Britain.
At that time, East Africa was definitely not weak in the world, especially in the military field, where its army and navy were among the best. However, it still had to fight a war with Britain, Portugal and other countries in exchange for decades of peace. If it were other countries, it would be hard to say whether they could withstand the suppression of Britain.
Mayor Okon went on to say, “As a riverside city, Tete attaches great importance to the development of its coastal economy. To develop the coastal economy, we must overcome transportation constraints.”
"The Tete River Bridge is a thoroughfare for residents on both sides of the Tete River and an important hub for regional transportation."
"It is not only crucial for our city and the region, but also connects to the travel needs of the people in East Africa's three major industrial zones in the future. It is a vital link in the industrial cluster in the central and eastern regions."
The three major industrial zones are the Bohemia Industrial Zone in East Africa, the Lake Malawi Industrial Zone, and the Lower Zambezi River Industrial Zone which is being accelerated.
The Bohemian Industrial Zone and the Lake Malawi Industrial Zone were formed early. For example, Mbeya is one of the earliest industrial bases in East Africa. It is located on the north shore of Lake Malawi. The Bohemian Industrial Zone was basically formed after the 1980s and became the new heavy industrial base in East Africa at that time.
After East Africa seized Mozambique from the Portuguese, Tete became a natural hub city between these two major industrial areas.
Because Tete is the only place between the two major industrial areas that has the potential to build a large city, it is also the most suitable place for transportation route selection.
Therefore, after the 20th century, several roads and railways intersected in Tete to connect the Lake Malawi Industrial Zone and the Bohemia Industrial Zone.
Later, with the development of the steel industry and its geographical advantages, Tete's industry rose rapidly, and with the development of towns such as Xinde in the lower reaches of the Zambezi River, the Lower Zambezi Industrial Zone, which was formed based on the Zambezi River, came into being.
In fact, this has led to Tete becoming the core intersection of three major industrial zones. After the middle and upper reaches of the Zambezi River are navigable, it will be able to rely on shipping to integrate into the East African Central Industrial Zone.
These four major industrial zones constitute what Mayor O'Connell calls the Central and Eastern Industrial Cluster. Once this industrial cluster emerges, it will become one of the most economically developed, industrially comprehensive, densely populated, and transport-facilitated regions in East Africa, and even the world.
Under the grand strategy of the central and eastern industrial cluster, the development ceiling of Tete, a core city, will be greatly expanded, and may even directly enable Tete to compete for the position of the largest city in East Africa in the future.
Of course, Tete's competitors are also strong. First of all, Mombasa, currently the largest city in East Africa, has established its advantages in the East African financial industry, which is difficult for subsequent cities to surpass. In addition, Mombasa's economic hinterland cannot be ignored.
Mombasa's economic sphere of influence is mainly in northern East Africa and the Great Lakes region. Although northern East Africa has long been an economically weak region in East Africa, northern East Africa is large in area and there are almost no competitors to Mombasa in the region.
Then there are the two cities on the west coast of East Africa, Cabinda and Luanda. These two cities are now on par with Tete. Once a center is established in the economy of western East Africa, that is, whichever of Cabinda and Luanda wins, its development potential will also be expanded.
Finally, there is the city of Shinde. Shinde is not currently ranked among the top cities in East Africa, but its future can also pose a threat to Tete.
Tete has a superior geographical location, but so does Hinde. Hinde is located at the mouth of the Zambezi River and is the terminal point of Zambezi River shipping. Even Tete's overseas trade must pass through Hinde. It is difficult to judge which of the two will be better in the future.
In addition to the above-mentioned cities, other regions in East Africa are also very competitive, such as Beira and Maputo in the south and Dar es Salaam in the north.
Ultimately, under East Africa's current economic landscape, competition among cities is extremely fierce, especially among the top ten cities, where the gap between them is very small.
However, what is certain is that Tete has a promising future. After the Zambezi River navigation is opened, it will be difficult for Tete to decline from the major cities in East Africa unless a war breaks out here.
Mayor Okan said: "In the future, Tete will be the imperial steel industry base, a national hub for railways, highways, water transport, and air transportation, a core city for the central and eastern industrial cluster, and an equipment manufacturing base."
“Tete will become the most prosperous metropolis in East Africa and even the world. Especially in the industrial field, we have huge advantages and will firmly establish our position as the leading industrial city in East Africa.”
The financial centers of East Africa include Mombasa, Cabinda, and Rhine City. It is difficult for other cities to obtain this status. The science and technology centers include Rhine City, Mbeya and other regions, where education and scientific research resources are concentrated. It is not easy for Tete City to obtain this title. This is mainly because Tete City has a short history and insufficient accumulation.
As for industrial centers, East Africa has many of them, so Mayor Okon particularly emphasized the title of the country's first industrial city, which is also the first point that Tete City is most likely to achieve at present.
As mentioned before, Tete is located at the center of four major industrial zones. Among these four major industrial zones in East Africa, three are mainly developed based on the distribution of local mineral resources in East Africa, namely the Central Industrial Zone, the Bohemian Industrial Zone and the Lake Malawi Industrial Zone.
Therefore, Tete, as the intersection of these three industrial zones, can enjoy the advantages of this resource distribution. In addition, Tete itself is an important mineral resource city in East Africa, and it naturally has the foundation to become an important industrial city in the empire.
After the Zambezi River is opened to navigation, Tete can go a step further and import resources from overseas to reduce the cost of industrial development. The combination of the two will reduce the cost of industrial development in Tete to the lowest level in the world, which will also be conducive to industrial concentration.
Therefore, Tete has the basic conditions to become the first industrial city in East Africa, or even the first industrial city in the world.
Of course, the first in industry here refers more to the scale of industry. East Africa’s positioning of Tete City is more similar to Suzhou in the Far East Empire in the previous life. However, the first in industrial scale does not mean the most developed.
Tete's core advantage lies in industry, but other cities in East Africa can surpass Tete in other areas. For example, Mombasa, the largest city in East Africa, is obviously stronger than Tete in finance, emerging industries, education, and medical care.
There is also a special city like Mbeya. Since Mbeya gave up its position as the country's first heavy industrial base to Harare in the last century, Mbeya's development focus has completely shifted. It no longer pursues industrial scale, but invests in high-quality fields such as education and science and technology.
There are many cities in East Africa whose industrial scale is larger than that of Mbeya, but no one dares to say that Mbeya's economic development is worse than theirs, because Mbeya's development in science and education is too brilliant, and there are no obvious shortcomings in other aspects. The only city that can be confirmed to surpass Mbeya in science and education is Rhine City, but Rhine City is the capital of the empire, and other cities obviously cannot achieve this status.
(End of this chapter)
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