Chapter 263: Cooperation and Mutual Benefit

Gao Da's plan to hold a tram exhibition was quite successful, a point that could be seen from the grand occasion on the day of the exhibition and the headlines in newspapers across various countries the following day.

The tram not only attracted the attention of the European public and media outlets but also caught the interest of European capitalists and the governments of various nations.

Before the exhibition had even concluded, the German government had already reached out to the Spanish government, hoping to obtain Spain's tram technology through the exchange of technical data, just as they had done previously with electrical technology.

Although the German Ximenzi Company was the inventor of the tram, looking at the tram technology currently displayed by Spain, Spain had already moved ahead of Germany in this regard.

In fact, it is not strange to think about it. Spain is at a leading level in high-power generators and electric motors, and trams equipped with high-power electric motors are bound to lead German trams in terms of speed and passenger/cargo capacity.

After all, electrical technology is a brand-new field; Germany respects the achievements Spain has made in this entirely new field and hopes to synchronize such achievements through technological exchange rather than slowly researching it themselves.

Germany, from top to bottom, has seen the potential brought by electrical technology, and they will not remain indifferent to this kind of brand-new technology.

It is no exaggeration to say that at this time, Germany should be the country in all of Europe, besides Spain, that attaches the most importance to electrical technology; Germany's emphasis on electrical technology far exceeds that of Britain and France, which is also the reason why they were eventually able to achieve great success in the Second Industrial Revolution.

Regarding the request for further cooperation proposed by the German government, the Spanish government naturally accepted.

Even if Spain did not make its existing tram technology public, Germany would inevitably master similar levels of related technology within the next few years.

It is better to exchange some technology and funds from Germany and even other European countries while such technology is still valuable, which could also help boost the development of Spain's electrical technology.

If they were to hide it and not make it public, great powers with the level of Britain, France, and Germany would also research similar technology within the next few years.

After all, the existing tram technology is not particularly profound, and Spain is not yet capable of imposing a blockade on other countries.

Just like the previous electrical technology, the governments of various countries are quite interested in tram technology.

After the German government, Britain and France also successively expressed requests to introduce tram technology, followed by the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy.

Gao Da was extremely welcoming to the cooperation requests from various countries. Whether it was the exchange of technical data or direct purchase with funds, Spain was the ultimate beneficiary.

While the Spanish government discussed specific cooperation content with various governments, it also released the idea of wanting to cooperate with capital to establish tram transportation systems in major cities.

Cooperating with various governments is only the first step; only by cooperating with the capital of various countries can the construction of Spain's trams be accelerated.

In an era without subways and buses, the tram is the best mode of transportation for urban residents. The trams in Ma Deli and Barcelona can be fully connected to the industrial zones in the suburbs, which can also promote economic exchange between urban areas and industrial zones.

Workers in industrial zones can go to urban areas for consumption and rest during their leisure time; isn't this the best way to promote economic growth?

At this time, the tram acts exactly like the subway in large cities of later generations. Although its carrying capacity is much smaller than a subway, in a country like Spain that lacks super-large cities, the tram's carrying capacity is already sufficient, and its effect will naturally be quite obvious.

Because the news of the tram had already made the front-page headlines of various countries' newspapers, when Spain released the news that it wanted to cooperate with capital to build trams, it immediately attracted the attention of domestic and foreign capital.

In addition to the government and capital, power companies would also participate in the construction of trams. This also led these capitalists to contact the power company of Gram at the first opportunity, all wanting to reach relevant cooperation with the Spanish government as soon as possible.

Although Gao Da's plan is to fully popularize trams in Spanish cities with a population of over 100, 00, this is not something that can be completed in a short time.

The current primary task is still to build tram transportation systems in Ma Deli and Barcelona, and only these two cities, which possess a large number of power stations, are qualified to build tram systems.

If the connection between the urban areas and industrial zones of the two cities can be linked by trams, the improvement for the two cities will be enormous.

Of course, in addition to the improvement in the economy, the improvement in public sentiment also needs to be a key consideration.

Unlike electric lighting, which has higher costs, the tram transportation system is intended for all residents of the two cities of Ma Deli and Barcelona.

This also means that the cost of riding the tram will certainly not be too high, at least within a range that the public can afford.

Imagine, when a city has quite convenient and cheap public transportation, will the public not involuntarily thank the government for its efforts?

The answer is certainly yes. While thanking the government, the public will naturally also thank Gao Da, the ruler of this country.

Building trams can not only promote Spain's economic development but also effectively improve public sentiment in Spain; why wouldn't Gao Da be happy to do it?

Although it is only necessary to build tram transportation systems in the two cities of Ma Deli and Barcelona, because the scale of both cities is not small, the funds that need to be invested are still very large.

According to the joint plan of the Spanish government and the two municipal governments, Ma Deli will build at least six tram tracks, four of which are within the city of Ma Deli, which is also the core urban area of Ma Deli.

Of the remaining two tracks, one directly connects to the industrial zone in the suburbs of Ma Deli; this industrial zone possesses the vast majority of factories and other enterprises around Ma Deli.

The remaining tram track is responsible for connecting the Ma Deli University City, the Royal Academy of Sciences, and the large-scale experimental zone; this tram is specifically prepared for university students and scientific research personnel.

Gao Da has also looked at the tram track plan for Ma Deli, and overall, it can still meet Ma Deli's demand for public transportation.

As for the residents who are not on the track lines, they will just have to make do, walking a distance before taking the tram.

After the tram tracks are built, the tram operating company will arrange the number of trams according to specific needs.

Tracks with relatively large passenger volume will be dispatched more trams, and vice versa. Although the tram is urban public transportation, the money that should be earned must certainly be earned.

Only by letting these capitalists earn the money they should earn will they be satisfied and keen on investing in the next urban construction in Spain.

If the first cooperation fails, these capitalists will not be so optimistic about investing in Spain's construction in the future.

In the situation where Spain lacks domestic capital, it is very necessary to cooperate with these foreign capitals. The country's construction cannot be fought alone; appropriately introducing foreign capital has only benefits and no harm for Spain's development.

Compared to Ma Deli, which needs to build six tram tracks, Barcelona only has four tram tracks.

Three of them are tram tracks in the urban area of Barcelona, and one longer tram track will connect to the industrial zone in the suburbs of Barcelona.

The main reason why Barcelona has two fewer tram tracks than Ma Deli is that Barcelona does not have such a dense university city, and because it is not the capital of Spain, the government's support will be smaller.

However, the tram track connecting the industrial zone in Barcelona is longer and will pass through and circle most of the Barcelona industrial zone.

If Ma Deli has the largest number of tram tracks, then Barcelona has the longest tram track mileage. After all, it is Spain's largest industrial zone, so the attention it deserves must be given.

In order to build and operate the trams in the two cities, Spain will establish the Ma Deli Tram Company and the Barcelona Tram Company.

The Ma Deli Tram Company has a total investment of over 62 million Pesetas, with the Spanish government investing 10 million Pesetas, the Spanish Royal Family investing 5 million Pesetas, the Ma Deli municipal government investing 7 million Pesetas, the Spanish National Power Company contributing technology equivalent to 15 million Pesetas, and the remaining 25 million Pesetas of investment will be publicly tendered, inviting domestic and foreign capital to join.

The investment for the Barcelona Tram Company exceeds 75 million Pesetas, with the Spanish government also investing 10 million Pesetas, the Royal Family still 5 million Pesetas, the Barcelona municipal government investing 10 million Pesetas, and the power company also contributing technology equivalent to 15 million Pesetas.

The remaining 35 million Pesetas of investment will also rely on domestic and foreign capital to make up, which is also done to reduce the government's fiscal expenditure.

The total investment for the tram tracks in the two cities reaches as high as 137 million Pesetas; this is no longer a small investment.

The investment that capital can intervene in reaches as high as 60 million Pesetas, which is already close to half of the total investment.

If it relied solely on the efforts of the Spanish government, although these 60 million Pesetas in funds could be produced, it would obviously affect construction in other areas.

The Spanish government's total fiscal revenue last year was only 932. million Pesetas, and the fiscal surplus was a pathetic 9. million Pesetas.

For the Spanish government, every sum of money must be carefully calculated so that it can take care of development in all aspects, rather than only focusing on one or a few.

After all, the Spanish government still has many foreign debts that have not been repaid, so what should be saved still needs to be saved.

As long as the construction of the tram is successful and enters profitability, the initial cooperation between the Spanish government and foreign capital can end with a good outcome.

In this way, when there is a need to cooperate with these foreign capitals in the future, they will not have the slightest concern, and the capital power that Spain can mobilize will be even stronger.

Although the total investment of the Royal Family in the tram technology of the two cities is only 10 million Pesetas, the shares actually controlled by the Royal Family are more than that.

The vast majority of the shares of the Spanish National Power Company are controlled by the Royal Family, and the power company has obtained an investment share equivalent to 30 million Pesetas through technology contribution.

In other words, the Royal Family's direct or indirect investment in tram construction has reached 40 million Pesetas, accounting for about one-third of the total investment.

Coupled with the investment from the Spanish government and the two municipal governments, it can ensure that the Spanish authorities occupy sufficient say in terms of trams.

This is also the reason why Gao Da is confident in introducing foreign capital; as long as Spain's combined investment accounts for the majority, there is no need to worry that foreign capital will turn around and possess the say.

In order to encourage scientific research in Spain, Gao Da even intends to create relevant awards to recognize and reward these scientific research personnel.

Such awards are, of course, not the Nobel Prize of later generations, but refer to incentive medals regarding scientific research.

Because the purpose is only to encourage scientific innovation, the selection for the awards will not be very strict. As long as one possesses concepts in scientific innovation and has already achieved certain results in corresponding research, one can apply to the award review committee to receive the award.

Of course, an award is an award, and the selection will certainly not be too simple, to avoid such awards becoming cheap and eventually not being valued by people.

According to Gao Da's plan, awards similar to the Scientific Innovation Award and the Technological Contribution Award will only be selected once a year, and the total number of recipients for all awards will not exceed ten people or teams.

Because the purpose is to encourage scientific innovation, the rewards are not just simple funds, but also include free trial of scientific research sites, exemption from water and electricity fees used for scientific research, and other aspects of assistance.

If necessary, award winners can also apply for tax exemption for scientific research projects, using tax exemption to reduce the scientific research funds required for research projects.

Especially for those private scientific research teams, whether it is the salary income of scientific research personnel or other expenses, they basically need to pay taxes.

If this part of the tax can be reduced or exempted, it will save a large sum of money for such private scientific research groups.

And in all of Europe, what private scientific research groups lack most is research and development funds. The effect of doing this is also very obvious, which is to allow these small-scale research groups to have more funds, allowing the research funds in their hands to be used where they are needed.

Such awards are all small-scale, and the difficulty of obtaining them is generally not high. Moreover, the selection will only be conducted within Spain; after all, Gao Da's purpose is to encourage scientific and technological innovation within Spain, not to encourage scientific and technological innovation worldwide.

Of course, where there are small awards, there will be big awards.

Big awards will certainly be similar to the Nobel Prize of later generations; the conditions for application will be quite strict, and there will also be very rigorous reviews.

If the previous small awards can only obtain fund rewards and certain support policies, then the things obtained from the formal big awards will be even more.

In addition to more funds and more powerful support policies, winners of big awards will even be granted titles, rising to become the noble class of Spain in one step.

Of course, big awards will not only face scientific research personnel but will face experts in multiple fields, selecting the most capable and contributing scientists in all of Spain, and even all of Europe and the world.

The purpose of small awards is to encourage scientific and technological innovation in Spain, and the purpose of big awards is to attract top scientists and related scientific research talents to Spain.

Spain's rewards for winners of big awards are quite generous, and the purpose of this reward is precisely to attract these people to stay in Spain.

Of course, it would be even better if the award winner is Spanish. In short, regardless of whether they are Spanish or not, award winners will receive quite generous funds, support policies, and a series of other rewards.

But to receive the reward of a Spanish title, one must join the Spanish nationality. I believe the attraction of noble titles is still sufficient; becoming a Spanish noble through scientific research is not necessarily a powerful means to attract foreign scientists.

(End of chapter)