African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1196 Dar es Salaam Aluminium Smelter
Environmental protection projects like this were most common during East Africa's era of planned economy. Many cities in East Africa have similar sewage treatment plants. After all, one of the characteristics of the planned economy era was that costs were not taken into account.

Of course, ignoring costs does not mean that costs do not exist, but these costs do not exist directly in the form of money. Labor, materials and other inputs are all allocated through administrative means.

The labor cost in East Africa has never been high. In the early days, there were black slaves to support it. Later, the population of East Africa exploded, and the price of labor was not too high. There is no need to say more about materials. Resources such as land and minerals are all controlled by the East African government.

Of course, this model is obviously unsustainable. Even the black slaves who were exploited like cattle and horses by the East African governments would inevitably take the path of resistance. Moreover, the number of black slaves in East Africa is now completely insufficient to support the development of East African society.

"There are three sewage treatment plants in Dar es Salaam, and they are surrounded by some highly polluting industries, such as aluminum smelters, textile factories, chemical plants, etc."

"As the times change, the demand for aluminum products is getting higher and higher, such as electricity, automobiles, kitchen utensils, etc. This has made the metal, which was very precious in the last century, completely enter the stage of large-scale industrial production."

In fact, aluminum also has a significant impact on the development of the aviation industry. However, the East African aircraft manufacturing industry is still in the incubation stage, so the impact on the total volume is not too great and is not accessible to ordinary people.

Take the East African civil aviation industry last year for example. The annual passenger traffic was less than 300 people, many of which were experimental flights. On the contrary, the demand from the military was greater.

In this case, the number of people taking flights each year can only be counted in the hundreds, which is a drop in the bucket compared to East Africa with a population of over 100 million. So it is normal that Pasteur did not know much about it.

However, Pasteur's words were incomplete and somewhat understated, but they were enough to make Howard feel encouraged.

He said, "I've heard that East Africa is the world's largest aluminum producer, but I never had an idea. Can you take me to visit the aluminum smelter in Dar es Salaam?"

Pasteur said with some embarrassment: "If I just want to take you around the periphery, then there is no problem. But if you want to go inside the factory, I don't have the ability to do so."

Howard said, "Of course I won't make it difficult for you. I'm just curious about the aluminum smelter because I've only heard of it before but never seen it. So I'm satisfied to be able to take a look from the outside."

Since Howard said so, Pasteur had no objection. He opened the car door, waited for Howard to get in, and then drove him towards the aluminum smelter in Dar es Salaam.

Howard looked at Pasteur's car with some envy. This car was a mid-to-high-end product in East Africa, and Pasteur was just a slightly powerful East African boss who could own his own car. You know, he still relied on a horse-drawn carriage to travel in Perth! The gap between Australia and East Africa was really too huge.

Food, clothing, housing and transportation are actually the four most representative elements that reflect a country's living standards and industrial level. With the support of East Africa's powerful automobile industry, cars have become an important daily necessity that ordinary families can afford.

This is not the case for non-industrial countries. Even if the income is high, the cost they have to pay is also relatively high. For example, Argentina is a typical agricultural rich country, but the cost of buying a car in Argentina is obviously much higher than that of East Africans.

Ernst also went through such a stage in the Far Eastern Empire in his previous life. When Ernst was in school, textbooks described the extravagant consumption of Americans. However, with the development of the times, the economy and industry of the Far Eastern Empire developed, and the consumption behavior and standards of the Far Eastern Empire also aligned with those of European and American countries. However, the fact is that there is still a certain gap between the income of ordinary people in the Far Eastern Empire and those in European and American countries.

Of course, if we ignore productivity, the most important factor, the income of ordinary people in each country does not actually mean much, because the upper class will try every means to reap the wealth of the lower class. This is an irreversible process, whether it is a slave society, a feudal society or a capitalist society, there has never been an exception.

It is precisely because of the productivity gap that the lower-class people in different countries have different consumption capabilities with the same amount of money. After all, in terms of labor intensity, there is not much difference between most countries. In fact, the labor intensity of workers in backward countries is even higher. Even in Africa, there are hard-working workers like Odebiao.

... "This is the Dar es Salaam aluminum smelter, the second largest aluminum smelter in the entire Coastal Province, the first one is in Morogoro City."

The reason why the largest aluminum smelter in the Coastal Province is in Morogoro City is mainly because of the abundant electricity resources in Morogoro City. After the Morogoro Hydropower Station is completed, it will not only meet the needs of the city, but also supply electricity to other cities in the Coastal Province.

"The aluminum industry in our province is not actually well developed. The aluminum industry center of the entire East Africa is the city of Shinde. If you have been to Shinde, you will understand the huge scale of its aluminum industry."

"In recent years, the aluminum industry on the West Coast has also been developing rapidly, and is showing a trend of surpassing that of the East Coast."

The city of Shindai was originally a small town located at the mouth of the Zambezi River, but relying solely on the development of the aluminum industry, Shindai has gained a place among the cities on the east coast of East Africa.

Of course, the fastest growing area in recent years is the west coast of East Africa, because the South Atlantic is rich in resources such as bauxite. In the past, Brazil and Guinea were both major bauxite exporters.

Almost all well-known cities on the west coast have an aluminum industry, such as Luanda and Cabinda, as well as the Gabon Province that was recently incorporated into East Africa.

The terrain of the west coast is similar to that of the southern coast of Brazil, which gives the west coast a huge advantage in hydropower, such as the string of waterfalls near the Congo River's estuary, so the hydropower potential is huge.

However, the hydropower advantages of the west coast have not been fully developed, mainly because of the difficulty. After all, it is still very difficult to build a hydropower station on the Congo River. But the Congo River is only the most recognizable and representative river on the west coast. Therefore, even if the hydropower resources of the Congo River are not developed now, the hydropower in the west coast region is sufficient to support current industrial and social needs.

Just the Second Aluminum Smelter in the Coastal Province and the Aluminum Smelter in Dar es Salaam mentioned by Pasteur were enough to make Howard feel the strength of the East African aluminum industry.

The Dar es Salaam Aluminium Smelter is a large state-owned enterprise in East Africa. It was built during the Second Five-Year Plan and used the most advanced technology and equipment at the time.

Because of the early start of the aluminum industry and large capital investment, East Africa has the most complete aluminum industry system. In Ernst's view, aluminum can be said to be one of the most important metals developed and used by mankind in the past hundred years. After all, steel and copper are traditional metals that have been used by mankind for thousands of years.

Looking at the huge aluminum smelter in Dar es Salaam, Howard felt that his past understanding was somewhat shallow, although there are already several countries in the world that have carried out large-scale aluminum industrial production, such as East Africa, the United States, France and so on.

However, only after visiting the site did Howard realize that the aluminum industry has now developed into an important material that is no less important than other commonly used metals. This also made Howard realize that there is great potential for the development of the aluminum industry.

"Mr. Pasteur, where does your aluminum smelter's raw materials mainly come from?"

"Part of it comes from the south of the country, and part of it should be imported from abroad. I remember that some of the bauxite in Dar es Salaam was imported from the French Southeast Asian colonies."

The French Southeast Asian colonies mentioned by Pasteur are actually Vietnam to be more specific. Vietnam is a country with very rich bauxite resources, and East Africa has always liked to import part of its mineral resources from abroad.

This is also the basis for the industrial development of Dar es Salaam. Dar es Salaam is not without mineral resources, but they are all small mines and the types are not complete. Therefore, the energy and minerals needed for its industry are either purchased from other parts of the country or imported directly from overseas.

(End of this chapter)