Chapter 1196 Dar es Salaam Aluminum Smelter
Environmental protection projects like this were most common in East Africa during the era of the planned economy. Many cities in East Africa have similar sewage treatment plants. After all, one of the characteristics of the planned economy era is that costs are not taken into account.
Of course, not taking costs into account does not mean that costs do not exist. It is just that 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 skyrocketed, and the price of labor was not too high. There was no need to say more about materials. Resources such as land and minerals were all controlled by the East African government.
Of course, this model is obviously unsustainable. Even the black slaves who were exploited as cattle and horses by the East African government will inevitably take the road of resistance, not to mention that the number of black slaves in East Africa is now completely insufficient to support the social development of East Africa.
"There are three sewage treatment plants in Dar es Salaam, and they are surrounded by some heavily polluting industries, such as aluminum smelters, textile factories, chemical plants, etc."
"With the changes of the times, 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 move towards the stage of large-scale industrial production."
In fact, the influence of aluminum on the development of the aviation industry is also very prominent, but the aircraft manufacturing industry in East Africa is still in the stage of industry incubation, so the total impact is not too large, and ordinary people cannot get in touch with it.
Take the East African civil aviation industry last year as an example. The annual passenger flow was less than 300 people, many of which were experimental flights, but the military demand was greater.
In this case, the number of people taking a plane each year can only be 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 does not know much about it.
However, Pasteur's incomplete and somewhat understated statement was enough to make Howard feel excited.
He said, "I've heard that East Africa is the world's largest aluminum producer, but I never had a clue. Can you take me to visit the aluminum smelter in Dar es Salaam?"
Pasteur said with some embarrassment, "If I just take you around the periphery, there's naturally no big problem. If you want to go inside the factory, I don't have that much ability."
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 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 is a mid-to-high-end product in East Africa, and Pasteur is just a slightly powerful East African boss who can own his own car. You know, he still relies on a horse-drawn carriage to travel in Perth! The gap between Australia and East Africa is really too huge.
Food, clothing, housing and transportation are actually the four words that best reflect the living standards and industrial level of a country. With the support of the powerful automobile industry in East Africa, cars have become important daily necessities 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 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.
In the Far East Empire in his previous life, Ernst also experienced such a stage. When Ernst was in school, the textbooks described the extravagance of American consumption. However, with the development of the times, the economic and industrial development of the Far East Empire, the consumption behavior and standards of the Far East Empire are also aligned with those of European and American countries, but the fact is that the income of ordinary people in the Far East Empire is still a certain distance from that of European and American countries.
Of course, if we ignore the most important factor of productivity, the income of ordinary people in each country is actually not very meaningful, because the upper class will try their best 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 same amount of money in the hands of the lower-class people in various countries has different consumption capabilities. After all, in terms of labor intensity, most countries are not much different, and even the labor intensity of workers in backward countries is higher. Even in Africa, there are hard-working workers like Odebiao.
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"This is the Dar es Salaam aluminum smelter, the second largest aluminum smelter in the entire Coastal Province, and the first 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 power resources in Morogoro City. After the completion of the Morogoro Hydropower Station, it can 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 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 there is a trend of surpassing the east coast."
Shinde City is a small town originally located at the mouth of the Zambezi River, but relying solely on the development of the aluminum industry, Shinde has 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 bauxite and other resources in the South Atlantic are quite rich. In the past, Brazil and Guinea were both major bauxite exporters.
Almost all the cities on the west coast that can be named have aluminum industries, such as Luanda and Cabinda, and the Gabon Province that has just been incorporated into East Africa also has an aluminum industry layout.
The terrain of the west coast is similar to that of the southern coast of Brazil, which makes the west coast have huge hydropower advantages, such as the string of waterfalls near the estuary of the Congo River, so the hydropower potential is huge.
However, the hydropower advantages of the west coast have not been fully developed, mainly because it is difficult. After all, it is still very difficult to build a hydropower station on the Congo River. However, the Congo River can only be regarded as 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 area is enough to support the current industrial and social needs.
And just the Second Aluminum Smelter in the Coastal Province mentioned by Pasteur, the Dar es Salaam Aluminum Smelter is enough to make Howard feel the strength of the East African aluminum industry.
The Dar es Salaam Aluminum Smelter is an orthodox large state-owned enterprise in East Africa. It was built during the Second Five-Year Plan and adopted the most advanced technology and equipment at the time.
Because of the early development of the aluminum industry and the large 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 humans in the past hundred years. After all, steel and copper are traditional metals that humans have used for thousands of years.
Looking at the huge Dar es Salaam aluminum smelter, Howard felt that his past cognition was a bit shallow, although there are several countries in the world that have carried out large-scale aluminum industry production, such as East Africa, the United States, France, etc.
However, only after going to the field to take a look, Howard knew that the aluminum industry has now developed into an important material that is not inferior to other commonly used metals, and this also made Howard realize that the development of the aluminum industry is promising.
"Mr. Pasteur, I wonder where the raw materials of your aluminum smelter 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, which 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.