Rebirth of England.

Chapter 860 Industrial Development
As early as when the AU established the peacekeeping mission to assist Mali, Kolo promised to donate US$2500 million to the AU peacekeeping operation and provide training and weapons and equipment worth US$1000 million to the Malian government forces.

In addition to enhancing Kolo's influence in the entire African region, the other purpose of these donations is naturally to promote their locally produced weapons and equipment.

Currently, Standard Defense's weapons production base in Bogu, a small town north of Kolo, has been put into production and is capable of producing conventional army weapons such as firearms, ammunition, various mines, grenades, etc.

Next, they will build a new factory near Bogu to produce L118 105mm light howitzers and matching shells.

It can be said that the same type of weapons produced in Kolo are cheaper than the same equipment produced in Europe. The weapons and equipment they support to the AU peacekeeping forces and Mali can be used as a "trial". If the quality can satisfy the troops of these countries, they will receive many orders in the future.

Prior to this, Niger, Burkina Faso and other neighboring countries of Kolo, which are also members of the West African Free Trade Organization, have accepted Kolo's low-interest and interest-free Kolo shilling loans and purchased some weapons and equipment produced by the Bogu base, and their evaluation of this is very good.

When he came to Colo this time, Barron originally wanted to visit Standard Defense's production base in Bogu, but was eventually persuaded by his security team.

After all, there are factories producing gunpowder and weapons and ammunition there, and his security team doesn't want Barron to take risks. Things like gunpowder explosions accidentally ignited in arsenals have happened in England before. Moreover, the production base here in Colo also employs a large number of local people, so to be honest, it doesn't feel that reliable.

Otherwise, why did Standard Defense choose Bogu, a remote town in the north, as its production base instead of near big cities like Lottie and Britta? There was also such concern, just in case.

It is worth mentioning that Kolo President Thomas Kaboré had just returned to Kolo after finishing his visit to China.

This time when he went to China, Kolo continued to reach a series of cooperation with China, and Thomas Cabore's purpose was also to go to China to "attract investment", publicize Kolo's preferential policies, and fair and open business environment to attract investment from Chinese companies.

At this stage, China is also encouraging their companies to go global and explore international markets.

However, it is not so easy to enter the European and American markets for acquisitions and investments. The African market is also growing rapidly, but what is more worrying is that the unstable political situation in many regions will have an impact on their investment.

Kolo currently has a stable political situation, and with continued investment in education, healthcare, transportation and infrastructure, it can be said that it is one of the few countries in Africa that is suitable for investment in all aspects. It can also radiate to the entire West African market, so it has really attracted many Chinese companies to come and inspect.

"Our previous cooperation with Honor Electronics was very successful. The mobile phone manufacturing base they invested in Kolo is the largest mobile phone manufacturer in West Africa. Their reasonably priced products are not only very popular in West Africa, but also have established a sales network throughout Africa. With such a successful example, many Chinese companies have also become interested in Kolo..."

Of course, he knew very well what Thomas Cabore had said to Barron. It was about the mobile phone assembly base that Dopod, a low-end brand under Honor Electronics, had previously built in Loti, Kolo. Its products were very popular throughout Africa because of their high cost-effectiveness. Honor Electronics has now begun construction of the second phase of this assembly base, which will provide more jobs for Kolo and train skilled workers.

In addition to Dopod, Transsion Holdings, a Chinese mobile phone manufacturer specializing in the African market, has also taken a fancy to Kolo's good regional location and business environment. The production base they invested in building in Loti is about to be completed and is located not far from the Dopod (Loti) assembly base... It is very likely that the area will become Kolo's mobile phone manufacturing (assembly) center in the future.

This time when Barron came to Loti, it was very different from the first time he came to this city.

The most obvious point is that the slums that were once everywhere in the city of Loti have disappeared - or rather, there are still settlements for low-income groups here, but the environment is very different.

It is also because Loti is the best port in Kolo and even in the whole of West Africa. With the development of Kolo's economy and the expansion of their re-export trade, Loti has attracted more and more capital to settle in, which has also expanded the scope of Loti city compared to before.

At a very early stage, Loti began to carry out urban transformation, especially with the relocation of its administrative and financial functions to the new capital of Blita, which also provided conditions for their urban transformation.

The Kolo government, through the Golden Africa Real Estate Company, has been building a large amount of low-rent housing in the city of Loti, especially near the new town area. These low-rent houses are owned by a state-owned asset management company, which charges extremely low rents to low-income people and allows them to move in.

This will allow the original residents of the slums in the city of Loti to be relocated into low-rent housing one after another. The vacant slums can then be transformed into office buildings or high-end apartments. These new buildings in the city center can bring about a substantial appreciation in the assets of the state-owned asset management company, which is enough to subsidize the construction costs of those low-rent housing units.

Using this approach, the municipal landscape of the Loti urban area has been significantly improved in just a few years.

It can be said that Loti has now become a benchmark city in West Africa.

Foreigners who come to Loti, the largest city in Kolo, for the first time can't help but be amazed - it's not that this place can surpass international cities like London, New York, and Shanghai, but Loti's municipal planning and the city's cleanliness and orderliness completely overturn their impression of African cities.

Of course, these changes in Lottie are also based on its industrial, manufacturing, commercial and other industries, which enable the local city government to have the capital to improve its appearance.

Even though Britta is the capital of Colo, Loti is still the economic center of Colo due to its excellent geographical location. It has more than half of the entire Colo's industries, manufacturing and other industries, and is the most dynamic city in Colo.

Similarly, in terms of education, although the University of Colo has moved to Britta, Loti still has a large number of technical schools, including the Loti Petroleum College, the Mining College, the Maritime College, etc., which continue to train technical workers for their industries.

(End of this chapter)