Chapter 249: Quality First, Speed Second

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, with large coal mines, large iron mines, oil fields, two large gold mines and a nickel mine in the surrounding area.

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

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

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

Of course, the initial industrial base currently planned is not that large, and the initial scale is only the same as the conventional industrial base in the southeast.

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

If it can be successfully built, 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 of land will be used to build roads and some green plants, as well as to 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 coal industry, machinery industry, and textiles.

Arthur's ultimate goal is to build this industrial zone into an industrial base with large enterprises as the core and highly concentrated distribution. Industrial zones with this feature include the Ruhr Industrial Zone in Germany, the Central Industrial Zone in the United Kingdom, and the Northeastern Industrial Zone in the United States.

If the first two phases of the construction of this industrial zone can be successfully completed and it can be smoothly put into production, and the population of Australasia exceeds 10 million, Australasia will have the initial qualification to compete for the status of a great power.

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

If you really want to become a great power with enough voice, in addition to a sufficiently developed industry and economy, a strong army is also an important condition.

It is basically impossible to become a recognized power before the number of Australian army troops exceeds 500,000 and the size of the navy reaches the top five in the world.

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

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

For the residents of the small town of Leonora, time has become a little different since the second half of 1907.

More and more people are coming and going near the town, and there are many exploration teams and officials of all sizes, all for the purpose of selecting the best industrial zone address.

At first, it was only officials from the Western Australian government who came to check from time to time, and finally it evolved directly into Minister of Industry Pierre personally in charge.

Minister Pierre has been here for a few days, and now there is news that His Majesty the King is coming to inspect in person.

This directly alarmed all members of the Western Australian government. After a tense and chaotic preparation, Western Australian Governor Alessandro Mastali, along with some state government officials, the mayor of Leonora, and all Western Australian legislators, stood respectfully outside Leonora and waited.

Not long after, at about one o'clock in the afternoon, Arthur's convoy arrived at Leonora smoothly.

It was not easy to say. This journey went from Sydney to 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.

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

If it wasn't in public, Arthur really wanted to stretch and relax, and stretch his muscles.

"Your Majesty!"

Seeing Arthur get out of the car, Governor Alessandro hurried forward and greeted respectfully.

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

Although Arthur is only 25 years old, his seven-year career as an absolute monarch has given Arthur full prestige and deterrence.

Apart from other things, even a political veteran like Prime Minister Evan did not dare to act rashly in front of Arthur.

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

"Let's go and see the site of our industrial base." Arthur said with a smile.

This comprehensive industrial base is a prerequisite for Australasia to further develop its industry, and it is also the reason why Arthur attaches so much importance to it.

Hearing Arthur's request, Governor Alexandro nodded repeatedly and agreed, and personally led the way with everyone.

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, and the Minister of Education and 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 solve them perfectly. This is why most ministers came with them.

The site for 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 transport railway connecting the southern industrial railway and connect 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 transportation 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 affiliated facilities are major projects for the country and are the decisive factor in determining Australasia." A prerequisite for future industrial development. I don’t want to hear any taint about industrial zones 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 properly, it will be no problem even if it exceeds the budget."

Although the financial department has 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 excess during the 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 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, 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 only 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.

Currently, 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 construction.

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 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 start construction, Arthur decided to stay to avoid running around in vain before the construction started.

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

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 the construction teams and officials at the groundbreaking ceremony.

Arthur also emphasized the importance of engineering quality several times to ensure that the construction of the construction site must be of quality and quantity, and then to ensure speed.

In order to ensure that the construction of the industrial zone is not constrained, Arthur specially 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 eight million Australian dollars, which is comparable to four dreadnoughts.

But after the successful completion of the industrial zone, Australasia will also receive a very rich return. Such a comprehensive industrial base can take Australasia's industry to the next level, not only in terms of scale, but also in terms of foundation and diversity, and formally reach the level of an industrial power.

With the participation of tens of thousands of indigenous people, the construction of the industrial zone became well-established in just a few hours, and different facilities have begun to be built according to various divisions.

Arthur naturally had no time to wait here. After giving instructions to 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 is also needed to testify.

In fact, when the construction of the industrial zone enters a stable stage, the ministers of various departments will not need to stay in charge all the time.

They only need to check the progress and specific situation every once in a while to ensure that there will be no problems.

After all, Arthur's emphasis on the industrial zone is well known. If there are problems in the industrial zone, I am afraid that they will not only lose their official careers and positions, but may also be charged with crimes.

After all, Arthur can accuse someone of a crime with just one word. Although Arthur has never done this, it does not mean that Arthur does not have the power to do so.

Today is still 4,000 words, and I will resume updating tomorrow (I am outside, so I can’t help it, brothers)) Please give me a monthly ticket!