Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 170 Industrial Base Development
Although the economic crisis has been temporarily alleviated, the impact it has caused cannot be resolved in a short period of time.

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

The impact of an economic crisis is completely different depending on the cause of the crisis. Take the current economic crisis, for example, the economic crisis caused by severe overproduction has led to a sharp drop in industrial output and prices in various countries, mainly in the metallurgical industry and metal processing industry.

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

But even with steel prices so low, European countries are still importing a small amount of steel, much less than before the economic crisis.

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

Even though countries led by Germany have lowered the price of steel exports to a level lower than the cost of steel production in Spain, Spain has not chosen to import steel from abroad.

After all, if steel is imported from abroad, domestic steel mills will receive fewer orders. This will not only affect the business of domestic steel mills, but also affect more companies because of the steel mills.

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

But except for those countries with small industrial scale and more dependent on material imports, other countries will not increase the scale of imports.

After all, these industrial products are cheap, but they will have an impact on the domestic industry and economy. This kind of cheapness is not so easy to enjoy, and it will also make one's own industry and economy affected by other countries.

Among many European countries, Spain is a special one because it has not been affected too much by the economic crisis and its domestic industrial enterprises are still producing uninterruptedly.

After the government announced the second five-year plan, these private factories were like people who had taken stimulants. They were completely relieved and became more passionate about production.

However, due to the overall decline in European prices, Spain's prices are also inevitable. So far, Spain's prices have generally dropped by about 10%, which is already a relatively good level compared to other European countries.

"Prime Minister Primo, do the current price changes have a big impact on various industries?" During a cabinet meeting, Carlo asked a question that he was most concerned about.

The price of goods is the price of all goods, which has a serious impact on the economy. Both the decrease and increase of prices may cause economic fluctuations and 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 metallurgical and metal processing industries were the most severely affected by the drop in prices, but with the government's timely control, the situation has now been effectively alleviated.

After the announcement of the second five-year development plan, my country's prices have rebounded to a certain extent and are still at a relatively healthy level compared with other European countries.

However, the prices of industrial products are unlikely to return to pre-crisis levels for the time being. my country's steel prices are currently about 15% lower than before the economic crisis, but because steel demand is increasing, factories and companies in the steel industry are operating stably and there are no major problems for the time being.

Prices in Europe are constantly falling, and Spain is certainly not immune.

If prices in Spain remain high, it will lead to a lot of smuggling. Buying a lot of cheap products from abroad, as long as they can be shipped back to Spain, they can make a lot of profit, which will lead many people to take risks.

However, compared with the price reduction in other countries, the price reduction in Spain is under certain control and the impact is not that serious.

Although the price drop in the steel industry is relatively large, the overall demand for steel in Spain is expanding due to the need for railway construction mentioned in the second five-year development plan.

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

What's more, steel mills are not low-profit enterprises. The profits of steel mills are frighteningly high. Even if the current selling price of steel is much lower, the steel mills will not go bankrupt.

It’s just that before you could make a lot of money from one order, but now you can only make a small amount from one order.

"How are the selling prices of agricultural products? Has the economic crisis had a big impact on farmers?" Compared to the industrial aspect, Carlo is more concerned about farmers' income.

There is no way. Most of the population in Spain are farmers. Caring about farmers’ income is actually caring about Carlo’s throne.

"This is good news. The economic crisis has not had much impact on agricultural products. The selling prices of industrial products are constantly falling, but the prices of agricultural products have been relatively stable and generally remain at the level before the economic crisis." When talking about farmers' income, Prime Minister Primo smiled and said.

"That's good." Carlo nodded and also breathed a sigh of relief.

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

Whenever the economic crisis caused a major impact on agricultural products, neither Prime Minister Primo nor Carlo could smile.

As long as farmers' income is not affected, Spain's basic foundation will remain.

This is also why the economic crisis lasted for several years, but the final impact was not so fatal.

There is no fundamental damage, and the impact on the industry can even be made up in just a few years.

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

Historically, the United States' economy and industrial scale eventually surpassed that of the British Empire, and Germany followed closely behind, with its industry having surpassed that of Britain before World War I.

"How is the construction of Barcelona's industrial base going?" After confirming that agricultural products were not affected, Carlo turned his attention to the industrial base being built in Barcelona. In Spain's development layout, Barcelona is second only to Madrid in importance. It is Spain's future industrial and economic center, and 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 and is suitable for industrial development, Barcelona is also geographically closer to European countries. After all, Spain is located on the Iberian Peninsula and is already on the edge of Europe.

"Currently, the construction of the second phase of the Barcelona Industrial Base is going very smoothly. It is expected to be completed and enter production next year." When 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 great credit to Prime Minister Primo, because it represents a major improvement in Spanish 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 original industrial capabilities.

The Barcelona Industrial Base is the most expensive and largest industrial base in Spain, and is also the industrial center envisioned by the Spanish government.

The total investment in the construction of the first phase of the industrial base exceeded 1500 million pesetas, and the total investment in the construction of the second phase of the industrial base exceeded 4500 million pesetas.

What can such an industrial base with a total investment of more than 6000 million pesetas bring to the Spanish government?

Of course, it is an industrial zone with a total steel production of more than 30 tons, expected to accommodate more than hundreds of factories and enterprises, and equipped with dozens of super-large storage warehouses and cargo transportation routes.

The first two phases of construction will provide nearly 10 jobs in total for Catalonia, which will greatly meet the employment needs of the people in Catalonia and completely transform Catalonia into a region with both developed industry and economy.

You know, the total population of Catalonia is only over 100 million. This also means that after the second phase of the industrial base is completed, one in ten people in Catalonia will have the opportunity to work in the industrial base.

Catalonia alone can hardly meet all the employment needs of the industrial base. Therefore, after the second phase of the industrial base is completed, Spain will need to select suitable workers from other regions to move to Catalonia to help the Barcelona industrial base to be better constructed.

There is actually a potential benefit to doing this, which is to reduce the proportion of Catalans in Catalonia.

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

As long as the problem of Catalonia is solved, the Basque region alone will not cause any big waves.

The Basques are destined to submit to the rule of the Spanish government due to their size. If any radical Basques dare to cause trouble, the Basque region will be greeted by a high-pressure policy.

At worst, all these hundreds of thousands of Basques could be transferred to areas outside of Spain, and Spanish immigrants could occupy this area.

As long as the Basques cannot cause any big trouble, solving the Basque region issue is just a matter of whether the Spanish government wants to do so.

Hearing the news that the Barcelona Industrial Base was being built smoothly, Carlo nodded, and then instructed Prime Minister Primo: "

There is no rush to build an industrial base, and our demand for steel production is not that great. Also, when introducing factories and enterprises to the industrial base, we should increase the proportion of other industrial sectors, such as the chemical industry, shipbuilding and mechanical processing.

When the second phase of the Barcelona Industrial Base is completed, please remind me so that I can personally attend the celebration ceremony.”

Prime Minister Primo nodded to show that he understood.

In fact, it was not just Carlo. Prime Minister Primo also attached great importance to the construction of the Barcelona industrial base.

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

When the industrial base was completed, a large number of Spaniards entered Catalonia and diluted the Catalan population.

This is the most promising way to resolve the Catalonia issue in a peaceful manner, and it is also the reason why Prime Minister Primo is very concerned about the construction of Barcelona's industrial base.

As a Catalan, Prime Minister Primo certainly knows the problems in Catalonia. Although many radical Catalans have been forced to immigrate, this cannot solve the root of the problem in Catalonia.

Ultimately, it is caused by the awakening of national consciousness. Either Spain assimilates this nation before the Catalan national consciousness is fully awakened, or it can only reduce the proportion of Catalans in Catalonia through subtle ways, so that Catalans will completely become a minority in Spain and cannot become the majority population in any administrative region.

Prime Minister Primo is currently taking a two-pronged approach. On the one hand, he strives to assimilate the majority of Catalans through more effective policies, and on the other hand, he attracts more Spaniards to enter Catalonia by building industrial bases to reduce the proportion of Catalans.

After these Spaniards who entered Catalonia intermarried with the local Catalans, their offspring were able to assimilate into Spanish more easily.

Coupled with the population growth of the main ethnic group, the number of Catalans will become fewer and fewer in the future, while the proportion and size of Spaniards will increase.

"How are we dealing with the industrial equipment we purchased from other countries and the dismantled production lines of the acquired companies?" In addition to the development of the industrial base, Carlo is more concerned about the things purchased from foreign countries.

After all, the Spanish government spent 3 million pesetas in real money, so naturally they had to make full use of these equipment.

"We took out some of the equipment and means of production and sold them to major domestic companies through auctions. As for those means of production and equipment that were not easy to control, we sold them to state-owned enterprises at low prices.

A large number of industrial equipment have been transported to the Barcelona Industrial Base. They will accompany the second phase of construction of the industrial base and expand the factories and enterprises in the industrial base.

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

(End of this chapter)