Chapter 993： Eastern Province’s strategy to strengthen its provincial capital

Chapter 993 Eastern Province’s Strategy to Strengthen the Provincial Capital

Yakov: "The planned economy is indeed exactly the same as the free market, but based on the development of Mombasa, your economic system should be very successful."

Corrivid: "Of course, this economic system is not perfect, and there are many problems. But at this stage, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. After all, the actual changes and development in East Africa cannot be deceived. It is not just Mombasa, Other cities in East Africa are growing rapidly and new ones are popping up all the time.”

"Mr. Krived, can you tell me about the situation in other cities in East Africa?" It is related to his future work and life. Before confirming his working place, Yakov naturally has to work more and do a good job. Mental preparation.

"Of course, there are not many cities in East Africa that I have not visited, but I still understand the overall situation. I will start with the big cities in East Africa, such as our new capital of East Africa, Rhine City..."

…

When Koliveid introduced the urban development status of East Africa to Yakov, the Mombasa Municipal Government and the Oriental Provincial Government were also discussing the issue of the Dar es Salaam City Circle.

As the twin cities of East Africa, Mombasa City undoubtedly pays the highest attention to Dar es Salaam City, and the same is true for Oriental Province, because the economy of Oriental Province mainly relies on Mombasa City, unlike Maritime Province, which still relies on the city of Mombasa. There are economically strong cities such as Bagamoyo City, Tanga City, Morogoro City, First Town City, and Soga City.

Although Eastern Province also has cities other than Mombasa, they are not strong enough to form a competitive advantage with Coastal Province. Originally, Mombasa was not as good as Dar es Salaam. After the capital was moved to East Africa, Dar es Salaam It's quite possible to go further.

Of course, there are also opportunities. The First Town is no longer the capital and is seen as an opportunity by Mombasa. After all, when the First Town was the capital, the former Central Province, which is now the Coast Province, absorbed a lot of policy dividends. The cities surrounding Yizhen City are developing well.

Now that the capital has become the Rhine City, this policy advantage has also been transferred to the surrounding Rhine City. Therefore, the Oriental Provincial Government believes that without the policy advantages of the central government, the development of the Maritime Province will inevitably be affected. This is for the Oriental Province, which is bent on surpassing the Central Province. For the province, this is a rare opportunity.

However, with the implementation of the Dar es Salaam city circle policy, this has also put pressure on the Oriental Province and Mombasa municipal governments. Although the capital has been moved, Dar es Salaam and Coastal Province still receive more attention than Oriental Province. Province and Mombasa High.

Mombasa Mayor Lorraine said: "The national plan for the Dar es Salaam City Circle has further stimulated the enterprising spirit of the City of Mombasa. The City of Mombasa has always regarded Dar es Salaam as its number one goal. Although these The city government and the provincial government have worked hard over the years, but after all, the overall advantages are not as good as those of Dar es Salaam.”

“The current urban circle planning of Dar es Salaam City is undoubtedly bad news for Mombasa City’s goal of competing for the first city in East Africa, so it is for the further development of Mombasa City.”

“Mombasa’s economy accounts for more than 70% of the province’s economy, so if Mombasa fails to develop, it will be a disaster for the entire province. The municipal government hopes to get support from the provincial government to avoid The city of Mombasa is separated by the city of Dar es Salaam.”

Regarding Lorraine's statement, Andalei, a senior official in the Oriental Province, quite agreed: "Although our province also has Malindi and Lamu, two cities with relatively strong economies, Lamu's military use has restricted its development, and although Malindi is the largest city in East Africa, It is a rare ancient city, but its economic development in recent years has been very unsatisfactory, and excluding Mombasa, Malindi and Lamu, it is even more difficult for other cities to become competitive. "

Andalei has said it very euphemistically. Except for the above three cities, the other cities in Dongfang Province are simply not worthy of their names. Only the administrative level reaches the city standard, that is, the township level.

"Therefore, the economic development of our province can only focus on developing Mombasa City first, and then drive regional economic development through Mombasa City."

Although there was support from Lorraine and Andalei, there were naturally objections. Someone said: "Senior official, is this decision too hasty? It is true that except for Mombasa, the development of other cities in the province is unsatisfactory, but this also proves that other cities in the province are not developing satisfactorily. The city has great potential, and it is not safe to put eggs in one basket. If Mombasa does not develop and consumes a lot of resources, it will definitely be a disaster for our province," Andale sighed. He said: "But we have no choice except Mombasa. Mombasa itself accounts for the majority of the province's economy and has unrivaled advantages in transportation. It is an important railway and maritime hub city in the country."

"This also means that Mombasa City is the easiest to achieve results, and no other city in the province can take on this important task. In our province, the only city with basic conditions that can barely compare with Mombasa is Lamu City, but the port of Lamu City A large part of it was requisitioned by the navy. In this case, Mombasa’s role is even more irreplaceable.”

After the completion of the Northern Railway, other cities in the Eastern Province are destined to be unable to compete with Mombasa, not to mention that Mombasa is the city with the best port conditions in the Eastern Province.

Andale said: "If we want to compete with the Maritime Province, as a weak party, we must concentrate all our energy on developing Mombasa first. Not to mention surpassing Dar es Salaam, we cannot be overtaken by Dar es Salaam." Lamu City can widen the gap so that we can become competitive with Coastal Province. If Mombasa City cannot develop, we will only become more and more difficult to compete with Coastal Province in the future, or even fall behind. "

"So during the First Five-Year Plan, the provincial government's resources should prioritize the development of Mombasa City, focusing on the development of one city, and ultimately driving the development of the entire province."

"Mayor Lorraine of Mombasa and I have reached some consensus on this. In order to promote the development of Mombasa, we will formulate a development strategy for the Greater Mombasa City, expand the urban area of ​​Mombasa, and coordinate the surrounding towns to further integrate Mombasa. Municipal Economic Cooperation Zone.”

“The key point is to bring Kilifi Town and Mtwapa Town into the urban area of ​​​​Mombasa, making it a highly industrial cluster like the new district of Dar es Salaam.”

Kilifi Town and Mtwapa Town are both in the north of Mombasa City, on both sides of the Mtwapa River, less than 20 kilometers away from Mombasa.

"At the same time, Mombasa City has great potential for development. Currently, the main body of Mombasa City is on Mombasa Island. Therefore, in order to further promote the development of Mombasa City, during the First Five-Year Plan, our province will focus on building two bridges to achieve Development of two new districts in the north and west of Mombasa.”

“That is to say, on the basis of the original urban area of ​​Mombasa, we will expand the urban area of ​​Mombasa three times, and at the same time connect the three new districts with the urban area of ​​Mombasa through roads and railways, and focus on enterprises in the province to invest in the construction of new areas in Mombasa. factory, and at the same time guide foreign investment in the construction of the new northern area and promote the establishment of important industries such as steel, electricity, and electrolytic aluminum in Mombasa.”

"Once the Greater Mombasa City Plan is completed, even if the Dar es Salaam City Circle is formed, we will be able to compete with it with the strength of Mombasa City."

“This is the goal of Greater Mombasa City during the First Five-Year Plan. In the next twenty years, Greater Mombasa City will form a transportation and industrial layout with four key port areas, two trunk railways, and three or more industrial concentration zones. ”

Andalei's plan will further make full use of the port conditions of Mombasa. The port conditions of Mombasa are much stronger than those of Dar es Salaam, and its harbor waters and complexity are stronger than those of Dar es Salaam.

That’s why there are four key port areas mentioned by Andalei. At present, Dar es Salaam Port has only developed Mombasa Island. In fact, in addition to Mombasa Island, the north, west and south of the harbor can be developed and utilized. .

However, due to the limited conditions in Eastern Province, according to the opinions of Andale and Lorraine, priority is given to the development of the north and west banks. This can also achieve connection with the two towns on both sides of the Mtwapa River in the north, which will facilitate subsequent development.

(End of chapter)