Chapter 994 Economic Foreign Aid
In fact, the reason for not developing southward for the time being is that the southern bay is an important waterway. Mombasa Island divides Mombasa Bay into two parts. The southern harbor is wider and the water is deeper. If a bridge is built, it will The shipping conditions at the port of Mombasa are greatly weakened, while the north and west have no such scruples.
The development path of Mombasa in the previous life was also the same. Bridges were built to connect Mombasa Island and the northern and western land respectively. Previously, there was a railway bridge in the west connecting to Mombasa Island. Now the Eastern Provincial Government plans to Further expand economic ties between Mombasa and the mainland.
It is not easy for the current Eastern Province to complete the Greater Mombasa Plan. To realize the Greater Mombasa Plan, at least 1.5 million people are needed, and the current population of Mombasa is less than 70 Ten thousand.
In the past, the population growth rate of large cities in East Africa was not fast. The most typical ones are Dar es Salaam and Mombasa. According to the economic size and population size of East Africa, if it is a free market country, then The population of the two places was estimated to have exceeded one million many years ago.
The United States can be used as a reference here. In the middle of the 19th century, the population of New York exceeded one million. At that time, the population of the entire United States was only about 20 million. Now the population of East Africa plus black people is more than 90 million. Surprisingly There is no city with a population of more than one million, so we can more clearly understand the development path of East African cities.
So for Mombasa, urban development is restricted by population. This is a big problem, but it is not without opportunities. That is, one of the goals of the East Africa First Five-Year Plan itself is to improve the level of urbanization. .
So Andalie said: "An important factor that promotes urban population agglomeration is industry. Only if the industry meets the standards can it provide more jobs and absorb more people."
"Big Mombasa City needs at least one million people to achieve our goal, so we first set the population goal of Mombasa City at one million. Breaking through one million is a great victory for us. That way, even in the face of The urban area of Es Salaam City and Mombasa City will not be far apart.”
“An important direction to absorb the population is to convert the agricultural population into an industrial population. The migration of farmers to cities does not delay the agricultural production tasks of our province. The most important thing is to improve rural productivity. ”
"So while supporting the Greater Mombasa City plan, the provincial government will carry out relevant reforms in the agricultural field of our province, including further adjusting the agricultural production structure, improving agricultural mechanization, and focusing on improving the productivity of chemical fertilizers and pesticides."
"The adjustment of the agricultural production structure means taking Mombasa as the center to transform the province's agricultural production tasks, connect with food and processing enterprises in Mombasa and other provincial cities, and at the same time increase the proportion of animal husbandry and cash crops in agriculture "
"That is, with Mombasa as the core, other cities will cooperate to form an integrated agricultural product processing and export port, gathering the strength of the province to vigorously develop the agricultural product processing industry, and improve agricultural income and production efficiency. Provide abundant agricultural products for the urban residents of Mombasa, and on the other hand, actively strengthen the export of agricultural products and increase the added value of agricultural products. "
"Agricultural mechanization is a term that everyone is probably familiar with, that is, in agriculture. Strengthen the use of tractors, agricultural vehicles, water pumps and other machinery in these fields.”
“In these fields, Mombasa must also further deploy related industries and strive for Mombasa’s industry to feed back the province’s agriculture.”
"The production of chemical fertilizers and pesticides is an important guarantee for stably improving the output and quality of agricultural products in a short period of time. In addition to serving the province's agriculture, it can also be exported or transported to other regions in East Africa. The above three key points are the priority for agricultural reform. Problem. ”
As agricultural productivity increases, the demand for agricultural production population decreases, so the population will naturally transition to cities.
Of course, if the urban industrial layout is not in place, in this case, the original agricultural population may become unemployed, and the economic development plan of the Eastern Provincial Government may be self-defeating, so ensuring the scale of the industry Expansion is the top priority for the city of Mombasa.
During the First Five-Year Plan, the policy support Mombasa received was not abundant, because the current focus of East Africa is on building the western region, so it is not easy for Mombasa to further enrich urban industries.
In this case, we must find more external support. The first thing is to seek help from the provincial government. At present, the provincial government naturally supports the development of Mombasa City, because Mombasa City is also from Oriental Province. provincial capital. However, with Mombasa accounting for about 70% of the province's economic volume, the province's strength is obviously not sufficient, so foreign aid is still needed.
So Mayor Lorraine said: "Currently, even if Mombasa City gathers the strength of the entire province to develop, it will be difficult. In this case, we must attract more allies. In this regard, I have two ideas.”
“That is to rely on the two main arteries of the northern railway and the coastal railway to cooperate with other provinces, especially the provinces in the northern railway economic zone.”
“The north. The provinces along the railway economic belt have close relations with the Eastern Province and have a high degree of industrial collaboration. Therefore, integrating resources along the northern railway economic belt is to strengthen the advantages of our province.”
“Mombasa City is part of the northern railway economic belt. For the leading part, most of the import and export work can only be completed through the Port of Mombasa, so the provinces along the Northern Railway Economic Belt are also most dependent on us.”
"In this case, we can completely lead the economic construction of the entire northern railway economic belt and cooperate with various provinces to achieve collaborative development of personnel, logistics, resources, minerals, and industry."
In this regard , the northern railway economy is rich in population, resources and markets, which Mombasa needs for further development.
Although northern East Africa is a relatively depopulated area, this is not the case along the Northern Railway Economic Belt. From Mombasa to the Great Lakes District, this area belongs to the eastern economic region of East Africa and has always been the most densely populated area. In particular, the Great Lakes region has developed agricultural activities, a large agricultural population, and a high natural growth rate. In the past, it has been an important population reservoir in East Africa, transporting a large number of people to various parts of East Africa.
So the key to Mombasa’s population exceeding one million lies in the Great Lakes region. Similarly, the Northern Railway Economic Belt can provide Mombasa with a large amount of resources. Although resources in northern East Africa are relatively scarce compared to other regions, if It is completely sufficient to supply the development of a city, and in Lorraine, there is no other city in the entire northern East Africa that can take on this important task, Mombasa City.
For example, the rich nepheline resources in the Kenyan mountains are an important source of raw materials for the development of the aluminum industry in Mombasa. Nepheline is a substitute for bauxite and is an essential raw material for the ceramics and glass industries. .
This kind of mineral is generally distributed in areas with more active geological activities. Mount Kenya in the East African Rift Valley is an important source of this kind of mineral.
Similarly, the northern region is currently the most important oil-producing area in East Africa, especially the two major production areas of Lake Turkana and Lake Albert Basin, which can support the development of Mombasa through railway advantages. .
In terms of other resources, Mombasa is also easy to import thanks to its superior geographical location, such as coal and iron ore for industrial development. Most of them come from imports, including from the Middle East, India and East Africa. New Hamburg Port City.
The geographical advantage of Mombasa is also its real core advantage. It is an important port for exchanges in East Africa, Eurasia and other regions. Although the Port of Mogadishu is closer, the Mogadishu economy can The quantity is not as high as that of Mombasa, not to mention that Mombasa relies on the Northern Railway, and its economic hinterland can reach as far as the Azande Plateau and the Congo rainforest.
So the planning for Mombasa must always rely on its port location advantages, which is also an important basis for the Oriental Province and Mombasa Municipal Government to formulate policies.
(End of this chapter)