Chapter 1432 - 13: Copper Belt Economic Development Zone Plan_2

Chapter 1432: Chapter 13: Copper Belt Economic Development Zone Plan_2

"If we let Kitwe City handle these tasks, it could indeed be done. But evidently, our risk resistance is far less than Lubumbashi’s. Kitwe truly has no future without it. Maybe just one time of failing to withstand pressure could put the entire company at risk of bankruptcy."

Simply put, Lubumbashi is large and prosperous with substantial financial resources, while Kitwe City is financially weak and politically less capable. After all, Lubumbashi is the capital of the Swabia region; if the economy has issues, Swabia acts as the financial support.

If Kitwe falters, I’m afraid no one will come to rescue it. As for the decline of Kitwe City, East Africa has too many cities, many with potential, so nobody cares about the fate of Kitwe City at all.

Deberne continued: "Next, both our city’s funds and energy should transfer from the copper mining industry to the development of other sectors."

"After reaching an agreement with Lubumbashi and other copper mining towns, the market and industrial share become stable proportions. We don’t need to worry too much, just keep an eye on Lubumbashi to prevent chaos."

"Meanwhile, we can take this opportunity to address our city’s shortcomings in other fields. The industrial structure of Kitwe City is very unhealthy; we must overcome our copper mining dependency."

According to Deberne’s idea, if Kitwe City continues to compete with Lubumbashi, it will inevitably have to allocate more energy. Hence, there is no need to compete with Lubumbashi in the copper mining industry.

Putting it less graciously, it means Kitwe City "surrendered," "yielded" to Lubumbashi, which is also the view shared by most people.

However, Deberne knows clearly, this is not about surrender, but about making choices. Now, Deberne no longer wants to wrestle with Lubumbashi in this already declining traditional industry.

Three days later...

Lubumbashi and Kitwe City Government formally reached a preliminary consensus and simultaneously invited other towns in the copper mining belt to further implement the cooperative development model.

Faced with the coercive and enticing pressure from Lubumbashi and Kitwe, other towns had no choice but to comply obediently, as being kicked out of the circle would certainly result in a very miserable outcome.

With consensus and agreements reached throughout the region, the copper mining belt economic cooperation development zone plan, led by Lubumbashi, was officially submitted to the East Africa Central Government.

Rhein City.

The appeal for the unified development of the copper mining belt has garnered Ernst’s attention.

"The copper mining belt is a vital industrial base in the central region. We have planned to integrate local resources to avoid internal competition. Now that Lubumbashi and Kitwe City have actively brought this up, it’s quite commendable. It shows they are ahead in their thinking compared to other regions in East Africa."

Finance Minister Logans remarked: "Your Majesty, in this copper mining belt economic cooperation development plan, it is said that Kitwe City’s mayor, Deberne, played a considerable role in promoting it."

"Those familiar with the history of Lubumbashi and Kitwe City know that these two cities have competed fiercely in the past for regional dominance."

"However, looking at it now, Mayor Deberne is quite a formidable person, willing to change this tradition and promote collaborative development between the two cities."

Regarding this, Ernst said: "This shows he’s a wise man. The gap between Kitwe City and Lubumbashi is too large. If competition continues, Kitwe City is unlikely to surpass Lubumbashi. Of course, that’s not the most crucial point because our policy is currently seeing increased copper imports, which poses the greatest threat to Kitwe City."

Logans asked: "So, Your Majesty, do you mean we should support the approval of this plan?"

Ernst said: "Certainly, since it’s cooperation in the economic field and generally aligns with the direction of the fifth five-year plan, we should naturally encourage cooperative regional industrial development."

"However, we should also take this opportunity to implement some policies locally, such as those related to environment, production efficiency, industrial structure adjustment, and so forth."

The environmental issues in the copper mining belt are quite severe, given the inherent destruction mining causes to the environment, coupled with metal smelting; this poses a major challenge for the copper mining belt region.

The main reason for stating this is because the copper mining belt is too close to Rhein City. If the ecological environment of the copper mining belt rapidly deteriorates, it will inevitably affect the surrounding areas, including Rhein City, as some upstream sources of Rhein City’s rivers are not far from the copper mining belt.

Regarding efficiency, it primarily involves the update and replacement of production machinery to enhance production efficiency, reducing resource waste while lowering production costs.

This is also the reason why Deberne anticipated that integrating the copper mining belt would require substantial investment, given the implementation of the fifth five-year plan, where eliminating obsolete production capacity is a key focus.

For instance, further eliminating a batch of outdated production and power equipment, like some manufacturing enterprises still using outdated steam machinery.

Specifically for such an important mining district like the copper mining belt, it also involves the upgrade and iteration of mining equipment, as mining districts increasingly emphasize factors like efficiency and safety based on time developments.

In addition, eliminating some illegal black mines and workshops is necessary. This is a byproduct of free economic development. Over the past decade, East Africa has chosen to turn a blind eye to these black mines and workshops to stimulate economic growth.