Chapter 171: Industrial Base Development

Although the economic crisis has been temporarily eased, the impact caused by the economic crisis cannot be resolved in a short period of time.

The greatest impact caused is the shock to the industrial and economic markets of various countries.

Depending on the causes of the economic crisis, the impacts of the economic crisis are also completely different. Take this economic crisis for example: the economic crisis caused by severe overproduction has led to a crazy plunge in industrial output and prices in various countries, which is mainly manifested in the metallurgical and metal processing industries.

The global demand for steel is gradually increasing, and the price of steel is also constantly climbing. But after the outbreak of the economic crisis, the selling price of steel in European countries dropped by more than half, and in some more severely affected countries, the decline even exceeded 60%.

However, even with such low steel prices, the amount of steel imported by European countries remains small, much less than before the economic crisis.

After the outbreak of the economic crisis, Spain significantly reduced its imports of foreign materials to protect its fragile domestic economy.

Even though countries led by Germany lowered their steel export prices to a level lower than Spain's steel production costs, Spain did not choose to import steel from abroad.

After all, if steel were imported from abroad, the orders that domestic steel mills could receive would decrease. This would not only affect the business of domestic steel mills, but also affect more enterprises because of the steel mills.

When the economic crisis broke out, all countries tacitly reduced the scale of imports and strived to export more materials.

But except for those countries with small industrial scales that are relatively dependent on material imports, other countries will not increase the scale of imports.

After all, these industrial finished products are cheap, but they will cause shocks to domestic industry and the economy. This kind of cheapness is not so easy to enjoy, and it will also allow one's own industry and economy to be influenced by other countries.

Among the many European countries, Spain is considered relatively special. Because it has not been affected too much by the economic crisis, Spain's domestic industrial enterprises are still producing without interruption.

After the government announced the Second Five-Year Plan, these private factories felt as if they had been given a stimulant; they were completely relieved, and their production work became more passionate.

But because of the overall decline in European prices, Spain's prices could not be avoided. Up to now, Spain's overall price level has dropped by about 10%, which is already a relatively good level compared to other European countries.

"Prime Minister Primo, is the current change in prices having a significant impact on various industries?" At a cabinet meeting, Gao Da asked a question he was more concerned about.

Prices, which are the selling prices of all goods, have a relatively serious impact on the economy. Both the decline and the growth of prices can cause economic fluctuations, and may even cause turmoil in an industry.

"There is a certain impact, but the current impact is not too serious and is acceptable to us," Prime Minister Primo replied:

"The most severely affected by the price decline are the metallurgical and metal processing industries, which have now been effectively alleviated under the timely control of the government.

After the announcement of the Second Five-Year Development Plan, our country's prices have warmed up to a certain extent, and currently, compared to other European countries, they are still at a relatively healthy level.

However, the selling prices of industrial finished products cannot return to pre-economic crisis levels for the time being. Currently, our country's steel prices have dropped by about 15% compared to before the economic crisis, but because the demand for steel has increased rather than decreased, the factories and enterprises in the steel industry are currently operating stably, and there are no major problems for the time being."

European prices are constantly falling, and Spain certainly cannot be spared.

If Spain's prices remained at a high level, it would lead to a large amount of smuggling. Buying a large number of cheap products from abroad and earning a lot of profit as long as they can be transported back to Spain would lead many people to take risks.

However, compared to the price drops in other countries, Spain's price decline is under a certain degree of control, and the impact caused is not that serious.

Although the price drop in the steel industry is relatively large, the overall demand for steel in Spain is constantly expanding due to the construction needs related to railways mentioned in the Second Five-Year Development Plan.

Having sufficient demand means that steel mills have enough orders. Although they earn much less money than before, as long as there is a steady stream of orders, the steel mills can survive on these meager profits.

What's more, steel mills are not low-profit enterprises. Originally, the profits of steel mills were frighteningly high, so even if the selling price of steel is much lower now, the steel mills will not go bankrupt because of this.

It is nothing more than the fact that one order used to earn a large sum, while now one order can only earn a small sum.

"How are the prices of agricultural products? Is the impact of this economic crisis on farmers significant?" Compared to the industrial side, Gao Da is actually more concerned about the income of farmers.

There is no way around it; more than half of Spain's population are farmers, and caring about farmers' income is actually caring about Gao Da's Wang Weijicheng.

"This is good news; the impact of this economic crisis on agricultural products is not significant. The selling prices of industrial finished products are constantly falling, but the prices of agricultural products have remained relatively stable, and overall they remain at pre-economic crisis levels," Prime Minister Primo said with a smile on his face when mentioning farmers' income.

"That's good," Gao Da nodded, also letting out a sigh of relief.

No matter how hot Spain's industrial construction is, it cannot change the fact that Spain is currently a major agricultural country.

If this economic crisis had caused a major impact on agricultural products, neither Prime Minister Primo nor Gao Da would have been able to smile.

As long as the farmers' income is not affected, Spain's foundation remains.

This is also the reason why this economic crisis has lasted for several years, but the final impact was not that fatal.

It did not hurt the fundamentals, and the impact on industry can be made up for in just a few years.

Although this economic crisis effectively curbed the industrial expansion of Germany and the United States, it only curbed it for a few years.

In history, the United States' economic and industrial scale eventually surpassed the British Empire, and Germany followed closely behind, with its industry having already surpassed Britain before World War I.

"How is the construction of the industrial base in Barcelona going?" After confirming that agricultural products were not affected, Gao Da turned his attention to the industrial base under construction in Barcelona.

In Spain's development layout, Barcelona's importance is second only to Ma Deli; it is Spain's future industrial center and economic center, and also an important port for Spain's export of products.

There are many reasons for choosing Barcelona. In addition to the fact that Barcelona has a large population suitable for industrial development, there is also the fact that Barcelona's geographical location is closer to European countries; after all, Spain is located on the Iberian Peninsula, which is already on the edge of Europe.

"Currently, the construction of the second phase of the Barcelona industrial base is going very smoothly, and it is expected to be fully completed and enter the production state next year." Mentioning the Barcelona industrial base, the smile on Prime Minister Primo's face never stopped.

The construction of the Barcelona industrial base is also a huge achievement for Prime Minister Primo, because it represents a great leap in Spain's industry from 1 to 10.

As for the previous Seville industrial base, it was more like a small-scale demonstration base that summarized Spain's existing industrial capabilities.

The Barcelona industrial base is the most expensive and largest industrial base in Spain's industrial base construction, and it is also the industrial center envisioned by the Spanish government.

The total investment in the first phase of the industrial base exceeded 15 million pesetas, and the total investment in the second phase of the industrial base exceeded 45 million pesetas.

What can such an industrial base with a total investment of over 60 million pesetas bring to the Spanish government?

Of course, it is an industrial zone with a total steel output of over 300, 00 tons, expected to house hundreds of factories and enterprises, and equipped with dozens of super-large storage warehouses and cargo transport lines.

The construction of the first two phases will provide nearly 100, 00 jobs for the Catalonia region, which will greatly satisfy the employment needs of the people in the Catalonia region and make the Catalonia region a completely developed region in both industry and economy.

You must know that the total population of the Catalonia region is only over 1 million. This also means that after the construction of the second phase of the industrial base is completed, one out of every ten people in the Catalonia region will have the opportunity to work in the industrial base.

A single Catalonia is difficult to satisfy all the employment needs of the industrial base. Therefore, after the construction of the second phase of the industrial base is completed, Spain will still need to select suitable workers from other regions to move to the Catalonia region to help with the better construction of the Barcelona industrial base.

Doing this actually has another potential benefit, which is to reduce the proportion of Catalans in the Catalonia region.

Once the main population of the Catalonia region becomes Spanish, it will not be so easy for the Catalans to cause trouble again.

As long as the Catalonia problem is solved, the Basque region alone cannot stir up any big waves.

Relying solely on the size of the Basques, they are destined to only submit to the rule of the Spanish government. If any Basque radicals dare to cause trouble, what awaits the Basque region will be a high-pressure ruling policy.

At worst, all these hundreds of thousands of Basques will be transferred to areas outside of Spain, and Spaniards will be immigrated to occupy this area.

On the premise that the Basques cannot stir up any big waves, solving the Basque region is just a matter of whether the Spanish government wants to or not.

Hearing the news of the smooth construction of the Barcelona industrial base, Gao Da nodded, and then instructed Prime Minister Primo:

"The construction of the industrial base does not need to be rushed; our demand for steel production is not that great. Also, when introducing factories and enterprises to the industrial base, increase the proportion of other industrial sectors, such as the chemical industry, shipbuilding industry, and mechanical processing industry.

Remember to remind me when the second phase of the Barcelona industrial base construction is completed; I want to personally attend the celebration ceremony for the completion of the industrial base construction."

Prime Minister Primo nodded, indicating that he understood.

In fact, not only Gao Da, but Prime Minister Primo also attaches great importance to the construction of the Barcelona industrial base.

This is not only related to the future development of Spain's industry, but also to the Spanish government's layout for the Catalonia region.

When the industrial base construction is completed, it will be the time for Spaniards to enter the Catalonia region in large numbers and dilute the Catalans.

This is the most promising way to solve the Catalonia region problem in a peaceful way, and it is also the reason why Prime Minister Primo pays close attention to the construction of the Barcelona industrial base.

As a Catalan, Prime Minister Primo certainly knows the problems in the Catalonia region. Although many radical Catalans have been forcibly immigrated, this cannot solve the root cause of the Catalonia region.

In the end, it is still caused by the awakening of national consciousness. Either Spain assimilates this nation before the national consciousness in Catalonia is fully awakened, or it can only reduce the proportion of Catalans in the Catalonia region through subtle ways, making Catalans completely a minority in Spain and unable to become the main population of any administrative region.

Prime Minister Primo is currently adopting a two-pronged approach. On the one hand, he is striving to assimilate most Catalans through more effective policies, and on the other hand, he is attracting more Spaniards to enter Catalonia through the construction of industrial bases to reduce the proportion of Catalans.

After these Spaniards who enter the Catalonia region intermarry with the local Catalans, their descendants can be more easily assimilated into Spaniards.

Coupled with the population growth of the main ethnic group, there will be fewer and fewer Catalans in the future, while the proportion and scale of Spaniards will increase more and more.

"How are the industrial equipment we purchased from other countries and the production lines dismantled from the enterprises we acquired being handled?" In addition to the development of the industrial base, what Gao Da is more concerned about is the things purchased from foreign countries.

After all, it cost the Spanish government 300 million pesetas in real money, so naturally, these pieces of equipment must be fully utilized to the extreme.

"We took out a portion of the equipment and production materials and sold them to major domestic enterprises through auctions. As for those production materials and equipment that are not easy to master, they were sold at low prices to state-owned enterprises.

A large batch of industrial equipment has been transported to the Barcelona industrial base; they will accompany the second phase of the industrial base construction to expand the factories and enterprises of the industrial base.

It is expected that it will take at least three years for us to fully utilize the production capacity of this equipment. In the next three years, our industrial production will enter a state of relatively stable growth, and those enterprises that have obtained production materials and equipment have the hope of taking this opportunity to continue to expand production," Prime Minister Primo replied.

(End of this chapter)