Chapter 249: Guarantee quality first, seek speed later.
The large-scale comprehensive industrial base planned by the Ministry of Industry is located to the west of the junction of Western Australia and South Australia, around the small city of Leonora and northeast of Perth.
The mineral resources here are very rich. There are large coal mines, large iron mines, oil fields, two large gold mines and a nickel mine in the surrounding area.
Slightly north of this area, there are also very large iron ores, gold mines and manganese mines, and further to the northeast there are aluminum mines, copper mines, etc.
Such rich mineral resources are also 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 was true that the mineral resources of this land were not wasted.
Of course, the preliminary industrial base currently planned is not that large, and its initial scale will only be 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 one thousand acres of land, with a budget of approximately A$6 million from the Ministry of Industry.
If successfully completed, this industrial area will have at least fifty standardized factories and ten large storage areas.
These factories cover an area of about 900 acres, and the remaining less than 100 acres will be used to build 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 coal industry, machinery industry, textile and other traditional industries.
Arthur's ultimate goal is to build this industrial area into a highly concentrated industrial base with large enterprises as the core. Industrial areas represented by this characteristic include the Ruhr Industrial Area in Germany and the Midlands Industrial Area in the UK. The industrial northeastern region of the United States and so on.
If the first two phases of construction of this industrial zone can be successfully completed and put into production smoothly, and the population of Australasia exceeds 10 million, then Australasia will be initially qualified to compete for the status of a great power.
Of course, even if it becomes a great power at this time, it is still at the bottom of the great powers, and its voice is not too high.
If you really want to become a great power with sufficient voice, in addition to sufficiently developed industry and economy, a strong military is also an important condition.
Before Australasia's army does not exceed half a million people and its navy does not reach the top five in the world, it is basically impossible to become a recognized great 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-scale comprehensive industrial base had been approved by the cabinet a few months ago, so after the time entered 1908, the construction of the comprehensive industrial base officially began.
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, and exploration teams and officials of all sizes are everywhere in order to choose the best industrial zone address.
At first, it was just officials from the Western Australian government who came to check from time to time, and eventually it evolved directly to Industry Minister Pierre personally taking charge.
A few days after Minister Pierre arrived, news came again that His Majesty the King was coming to inspect in person.
This directly alarmed all members of the Western Australian government. After a period of nervous preparations, the Governor of Western Australia, Alessandro Mastalli, took some state government officials and Leonora The mayor of the town, as well as all the Western Australian MPs, stood respectfully waiting outside the town of Leonora.
Time didn't pass long, around one o'clock in the afternoon, Arthur's motorcade successfully arrived at the small town of Leonora.
It’s not easy to say. This journey started from Sydney all the way through Melbourne, Adelaide, Port Augusta and other cities, got off the train slightly closer to Western Australia, and then took the car brought by the train. Come.
More than two days of train journey plus more than an hour of car journey made Arthur's whole body sore.
If it weren't for being in public, Arthur would really like to stretch out, relax, and stretch his muscles.
"Your Majesty!"
Seeing Arthur getting out of the car, Governor Alessandro quickly stepped forward and greeted him respectfully.
"Don't be so restrained, Governor Alexandro." Arthur said with a smile.
Although Arthur is only 25 years old now, his seven-year career as an exclusive monarch has given Arthur full prestige and intimidation.
Apart from anything else, even a political veteran like Prime Minister Evan would not dare to make a mistake in front of Arthur.
Because smart people all 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 the location of our industrial base." Arthur said with a smile.
This comprehensive industrial base is a prerequisite for Australasia's industry to advance further, and it is also the reason why Arthur attaches so much importance to it.
Upon hearing Arthur's request, Governor Alessandro nodded in agreement and personally led the way with everyone.
This is following Arthur. In addition to Pierre, the Minister of Industry in charge of industry, there are also the Minister of Transport, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Public Security, the Minister of Education, and the Minister of Health.
Only Prime Minister Walter and a few ministers handled 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 just as simple as building a few factories. Because the educational and medical environment around Leonora is not very good, but it will become the largest industrial area in Australasia in the future, so the appropriate educational and medical environment is also a must.
After all, if you want workers to come here to work, you must improve their basic living conditions.
In addition, security issues in industrial zones, transportation, etc., all require the personal participation of each minister to be fully resolved. This is why most ministers came with them.
The site of the first phase of the Simple Industrial Zone was not far from Leonora. Only twenty minutes after taking the car, Arthur and his team 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 dividing the area in detail according to the drawings given by the industrial department to facilitate future construction.
Along the way, Arthur has personally experienced the advantages and disadvantages of the current industrial zone. Needless to say, the advantages are that the mineral resources near the location 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 is connected to the road, and the road 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 transportation railway connecting the southern industrial railway and connecting it to a major 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 solved?"
Minister Lauren quickly replied: "Your Majesty, the specific design drawings of the industrial zone have been released, and road construction can start at any time. It is expected that with the investment of tens of thousands of indigenous people, the transport railway connecting our industrial zone to the industrial railway will be completed within a year. It will be completed and open to traffic, and the highway is expected to only take more than half a year."
Arthur nodded with satisfaction and ordered: "We must pay attention to various constructions in the industrial zone, and we must not cut corners. The industrial zone and all its affiliates must The facility is a major project for the country and is a prerequisite for determining the future industrial development of Australasia. I don't want to hear any taint about the industrial zone in the future, understand?" Arthur's words are not unimportant
. For an autocratic monarch like Arthur who holds the power of life and death, such words are 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 corners will be cut." Minister Lauren quickly assured.
Industry Minister Pierre also spoke up. After all, Arthur was talking about the entire industrial zone, and the Ministry of Industry had the heaviest responsibility.
Arthur nodded with satisfaction, put away his previous serious look, and said with a smile: "The construction of industrial zones is a national priority. If you find any problems during the construction, you must report them 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 on its own. As long as the budget is used in the right way, even if it exceeds the budget, there is no problem." Although the financial department has already made a preliminary budget
for the construction of the industrial zone, But this is only a preliminary estimate after all, and it is inevitable that there will be excess during construction.
Arthur expressed his understanding of the phenomenon of budget overruns. As long as all these financial budgets are used in the right way, even if the budget is doubled, it is acceptable.
After all, Australasia’s current needs are not just to establish industrial zones, but also to build industrial zones whose quality can withstand consideration.
In a national key project like the industrial zone, Arthur does 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. The power of life and death is no joke.
The establishment and layout of education and medical care cannot be completely decided now.
After all, a large-scale integrated comprehensive industrial base will be built here, and it is only the first phase now. The corresponding medical and educational environment must be laid out according to the complete industrial base.
The good news is that the construction cycle 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, security and transportation environments, and to establish a complete living environment for the industrial zone.
In order to pay workers more conveniently in the future, it is also necessary to establish a royal bank near this industrial area.
But this is the matter of Butler Kent, and I believe Butler Kent will not disappoint Arthur.
Even if it is just the first phase of construction of the industrial zone, it is expected that tens of thousands of indigenous people will be invested in the construction as soon as possible and with guaranteed quality and quantity.
At present, the indigenous manpower is being gradually prepared. When the construction team and the number of indigenous people are fully prepared, it will be time for the industrial zone to officially start.
I believe this time is not far away. After all, Arthur has seen a large number of indigenous people in the industrial area. It is estimated that the number of indigenous people is almost the same. Waiting for various construction teams from home and abroad.
After taking the ministers of various departments to visit the entire industrial base, Arthur stayed in the small town of Leonora for a few more 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 to avoid running around in vain before the construction started in the future.
After all, Arthur still has to participate in the official start of such a major national construction project.
After waiting for a few days, on January 7, 1908, the construction of the Leonora Industrial Zone officially started.
Arthur attended the groundbreaking ceremony and encouraged all construction teams and officials at the groundbreaking ceremony.
Arthur has also emphasized the importance of project quality several times, ensuring that the construction site must maintain quality and quantity, and then ensure speed.
In order to allow the construction of industrial zones to be unimpeded, Arthur specifically asked the Ministry of Finance to allocate a total of two million Australian dollars to various departments.
In total, the construction of the first phase of the industrial base cost 8 million Australian dollars, which is comparable to four dreadnoughts.
However, after the successful completion of the industrial zone, Australasia's returns will also be very rich. Such a comprehensive industrial base can take Australasia's industry to a higher level, not only in terms of scale, but also in terms of foundation and diversity. , officially reaching 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 became full-scale, and different facilities were built according to various divisions.
Arthur naturally did not have time to wait here. After giving instructions to the ministers of various departments again, Arthur chose to return to Sydney. After all, Sydney was about to usher in another National Day, and Arthur needed to testify.
In fact, after the construction of the industrial zone enters a stable stage, there will be no need for the ministers of various departments to stay in charge.
They only need to check the progress and specific situation every once in a while to ensure that no problems will arise.
After all, everyone knows that Arthur attaches great importance to the industrial zone. If there is a problem in the industrial zone, they may not only lose their official career and position, but they may also be charged with serious crimes.
After all, it was just a matter of Arthur's words to assign a crime. Although Arthur had never done so, it did not mean that Arthur did not have the power to do so.
There are still 4,000 words today, and updates will resume tomorrow (I’m outside, I can’t help it, brothers)) Please give me a monthly vote!
(End of chapter)