Rise of Australia

Chapter 249

The large-scale integrated industrial base planned by the Ministry of Industry is located west of the border between Western Australia and South Australia, around the small city of Leonora and northeast of Perth.

The mineral resources here are very rich, surrounded by large coal mines, large iron mines, oil fields, two large gold mines and a nickel mine.

And slightly north of this area, there are also super-large iron mines, gold mines, and manganese mines, and there are aluminum mines, copper mines, etc. in the northeast.

Such rich mineral resources are destined to be a good place for the development of an integrated comprehensive industrial base.

In fact, later Australia also had a non-ferrous metal industrial base and a steel industrial base in this area, and it did not waste the mineral resources of this land.

Of course, the current planned preliminary industrial base is not that big, and the scale at the beginning is only the same as the conventional industrial base in the southeast.

According to the plan, the first step of the construction plan of the integrated large-scale industrial base is expected to cover at least 600 acres of land, and the budget of the Ministry of Industry is about [-] million Australian dollars.

If it can be successfully completed, this industrial area will have at least fifty standardized factories and ten large storage areas.

These factories cover an area of ​​about [-] acres, and the remaining less than [-] acres of land will be built with roads and some green plants, as well as initially solve the factory sewage problem.

Because it is an integrated large-scale comprehensive industrial zone, the industrial development here is no longer limited to the steel industry and simple chemical industry, but also includes traditional industries such as the coal industry, machinery industry, and textiles.

Arthur's ultimate goal is to build this industrial area into a highly concentrated industrial base centered on large enterprises. The industrial areas represented by this feature include the Ruhr Industrial Area in Germany, the Central Industrial Area in England, The industrial Northeast of the United States and so on.

If the construction of the first two phases of this industrial area can be successfully completed, and it can be successfully put into production, and the population of Australasia exceeds [-] million, then Australasia will be eligible to initially compete for the status of a great power.

Of course, even if you become a great power at this time, you are still only at the bottom of the great powers, and your right to speak is not too high.

In order to truly become a great power with enough power to speak, in addition to a sufficiently developed industry and economy, a strong military is also an important condition.

Before Australasia's army has exceeded 50 and its navy has not reached the top five in the world, it is basically impossible to become a well-recognized power.

Because the first phase of the integrated industrial zone was built near Leonora, a small city in Western Australia, the name of this industrial zone was also named Leonora Large Industrial Base.

The idea of ​​building such a large comprehensive industrial base had been approved by the cabinet a few months ago, so after 1908, the construction of the comprehensive industrial base officially started.

For the residents of the small town of Leonora, time began to look a little different in the second half of 1907.

There are more and more people coming and going around the town, large and small exploration teams and officials abound, in order to choose the best industrial area address.

In the beginning, it was only officials from the Western Australia state government who came to check from time to time, and finally it directly evolved into Pierre, the minister of industry, who was in charge in person.

A few days after Minister Pierre came, there was another news that His Majesty the King was coming to inspect it in person.

This directly alarmed all members of the Western Australian state government. After a burst of nervous preparations, the Governor of Western Australia, Alessandro Mastaley, brought some officials of the state government and Leonora The mayor of the town, as well as all the congressmen of Western Australia, stood respectfully waiting outside the town of Leonora.

The time passed not long, and at about one o'clock in the afternoon, Arthur's convoy arrived in the small town of Leonora smoothly.

It's not easy to say, this journey from Sydney all the way through Melbourne, Adelaide, Port Augusta and other cities, got off the train at a position slightly closer to Western Australia, and then took the car brought by the train before Come.

More than two days of train journey and more than an hour of car journey made Arthur's whole body sore.

If it weren't for the public, Arthur really wanted to stretch and relax, and move his muscles and bones by the way.

"His Majesty!"

Seeing Arthur get off the car, Governor Alessandro hurried forward and greeted him respectfully.

"Don't be so restrained, Governor Alexandro." Arthur said with a smile.

Although Arthur is only 25 years old with all his plans, his seven-year career as an autocratic monarch has given him full prestige and deterrence.

Among other things, even a political veteran like Prime Minister Evan did not dare to make trouble in front of Arthur.

Because all smart people know who the master of this country is and who holds the power of life and death in this country.

"Let's go and see where our industrial base is located." Arthur said with a smile.

For Australasia, this comprehensive industrial base is a prerequisite for the further development of industry, and it is also the reason why Arthur attaches so much importance to it.

Hearing Arthur's request, Governor Alessandro nodded in agreement, and personally led the way for everyone.

This is following Arthur. In addition to Pierre, the Minister of Industry who is in charge of industry, there are also Ministers of Transport, Finance, Public Security, Education, and Health.

Only Prime Minister Walter and a few ministers dealt with government affairs in Sydney, and most of the cabinet followed Arthur to Western Australia.

After all, the establishment of a comprehensive industrial zone is not as simple as building a few factories.Because the education and medical environment around Leonora are not very good, but this will become the largest industrial area in Australasia in the future, so the education and medical environment that it should have must also be available.

After all, if you want workers to come to work here, you have to build their basic living conditions.

In addition, the public security issues in the industrial zone, as well as transportation, etc., all require the personal participation of the ministers to solve them perfectly, which is why most of the ministers have followed.

The location of the first phase of the Suoxing Industrial Zone is not far from Leonora. After only 10 minutes by car, Arthur and his party arrived at the site of the industrial zone in the southwest of Leonora.

At this time, some people are already planning the specific location of the industrial zone, and divide the area in detail according to the drawings given by the industrial department, so as to facilitate future construction.

Along the way, Arthur has personally experienced the advantages and disadvantages of the current industrial zone.

The advantages needless to say, the mineral resources near the site of the industrial zone are very rich, which also creates prerequisites for the establishment of the industrial zone.

However, the current traffic environment in this area is not very good. Only the town of Leonora has been connected to the road, and the road leading to the industrial area has only been temporarily widened and cannot be used normally in the future.

This also means that the most important thing for the industrial zone at present is to build a transport railway connecting the southern industrial railway, and to connect to a main road to facilitate transportation by trains and trucks.

Thinking of this, Arthur looked at the Minister of Transportation and asked, "Minister Lauren, when will the transportation problem in the industrial zone be resolved?"

Minister Lauren quickly replied: "Your Majesty, the specific design drawings of the industrial zone have been released, and the road construction can start at any time. It is estimated that under the premise of investing tens of thousands of indigenous people, the transport railway connecting the industrial zone to the industrial railway will be completed within a year. It can be completed and opened to traffic, and the road is expected to only take more than half a year."

Only then did Arthur nodded in satisfaction, and ordered: "We must pay attention to the various constructions of the industrial zone, and we must not cut corners. The industrial zone and all its affiliated facilities are major projects for the country. A prerequisite for future industrial development. I don't want to hear any stains about industrial areas in the future, understand?"

Arthur's words were not insignificant. For an autocratic monarch like Arthur who held the power of life and death, such words were not only a warning, but also a sharp sword hanging over the heads of these officials.

"I understand, Your Majesty. Please rest assured that I will personally supervise the road construction in the industrial zone, and absolutely guarantee that no corner-cutting will happen." Minister Lauren promised quickly.

Industry Minister Pierre also followed suit. After all, Arthur was talking about the entire industrial zone, and the Ministry of Industry had the heaviest responsibility.

Arthur nodded in satisfaction, put away his previous serious look, and said with a smile: "The construction of the industrial zone is a national priority, if you find any problems during the construction, you must report it in time, and you are not allowed to hide anything. Of course, if there are any financial problems, your cabinet government can study and solve them yourself. As long as the budget is used in the right way, even if it exceeds the budget, there is no problem at all.”

Although the financial department has already made a preliminary budget for the construction of the industrial zone, this is only a preliminary estimate after all, and it is inevitable that there will be excesses during the construction.

Arthur expressed his understanding of the phenomenon of excessive budgets. As long as all the budgets are used in the right way, even if the budget is doubled, it is acceptable.

After all, the current needs of Australasia are not only to build industrial zones, but also to build industrial zones that can stand the test of quality.

On a national key project like the industrial zone, Arthur did not allow any situations or accidents to happen.

If these officials ignore Arthur's words, then they will also see for themselves the power of an absolute monarch, and the power of life and death is no joke.

The establishment and layout of education and medical care cannot be fully decided now.

After all, a large-scale integrated comprehensive industrial base will be built here, and it is only the first phase now, and the corresponding medical and educational environment should be laid out according to the complete body of the industrial base.

The good news is that the construction period of the industrial zone is at least one and a half years. Coupled with the introduction of foreign factories and domestic capital, the time for the industrial zone to be fully put into production may be at least two and a half years.

This period of time is also enough for various departments to establish corresponding education, medical care, public security and transportation environments, and to establish a complete living environment for industrial areas.

In order to pay wages to workers more conveniently in the future, it is also very necessary to establish a royal bank near this industrial area.

But this is the matter of Kent Butler, and I believe Kent Butler will not disappoint Arthur.

Even if it is only the first phase of the construction of the industrial zone, it is estimated that tens of thousands of indigenous people will be invested in the construction as soon as possible, with quality and quantity guaranteed.

At present, the manpower of the aborigines is already gradually being prepared. When the construction team and the number of aborigines are all prepared, it is time for the official start of the industrial zone.

I believe that this time is not far away. After all, Arthur has seen a large number of aboriginals in the industrial zone. It is estimated that the number of aborigines is almost the same. What are waiting are various construction teams from home and abroad.

After visiting the entire industrial base with the ministers of various departments, Arthur stayed in the small town of Leonora for a few days.

In fact, there was no need to stay, but after hearing that the industrial zone was about to officially start construction, Arthur decided to stay, so as not to run around in vain before the start of construction in the future.

After all, for such a major national construction, Arthur still has to participate in the official start of construction.

After waiting for a few days, on January 1908, 1, the construction of the Leonora Industrial Zone officially started.

Arthur participated in the groundbreaking ceremony and encouraged all construction teams and officials at the groundbreaking ceremony.

Arthur also emphasized the importance of project quality several times, ensuring that the construction site must maintain quality and quantity, and then ensure the speed.

In order to make the construction of the industrial zone unfettered, Arthur deliberately asked the Ministry of Finance to allocate a total of 200 million Australian dollars to various departments.

Added up, the construction of the first phase of the industrial base cost 800 million Australian dollars, comparable to four dreadnoughts.

However, after the successful completion of the industrial zone, Australasia's return is also very rich. Such a comprehensive industrial base can bring Australasia's industry to a higher level, not only in terms of scale, but also in terms of foundation and diversity. , officially reached the level of an industrial power.

With the input of tens of thousands of indigenous people, in just a few hours, the construction of the industrial zone has become decent, and different facilities have begun to be built according to various divisions.

Arthur naturally didn't have time to wait here. After instructing the ministers of various departments again, Arthur chose to return to Sydney. After all, Sydney is about to usher in another National Day, and Arthur needs to testify.

In fact, after the construction of the industrial zone enters a stable stage, there is no need for the ministers of various departments to sit in charge all the time.

They just need to check the progress and the specific situation every once in a while to make sure there are no problems.

After all, everyone knew that Arthur attached great importance to the industrial zone. If there was a problem in the industrial zone, I am afraid that they would not only lose their official career and position, but they might be charged with serious crimes.

After all, it is only a matter of Arthur's words to charge someone. Although Arthur has never done this, it does not mean that Arthur does not have the power to do so.

　It is still [-] words today, and it will be updated tomorrow (outside, there is no way, brothers)) Ask for a monthly pass!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)