Chapter 395 - 215: Inspecting Barcelona (2)
Thus, Baron Angelo Orkaho gradually entered the political arena, and due to his considerable ability in industrial development, Carlo promoted him to the Seville Industrial Base.
Ankaro performed well at the Seville Industrial Base. When the Spanish Government decided to build a larger industrial base in Barcelona, Carlo entrusted this significant responsibility to Ankaro and appointed him as the chief executive of the industrial base.
Presently, Ankaro is performing quite admirably at the industrial base. The Barcelona Industrial Base has smoothly completed the first two phases of construction and is in the final phase.
If all three phases of construction are successfully completed, the Barcelona Industrial Base will become a massive industrial hub with over 500,000 workers. Barcelona will also become the industrial heart of Spain, with an importance on par with the capital, Madrid.
Even though the third phase of the Barcelona Industrial Base is not yet completed, the capabilities of the industrial base, having completed two phases, are still significant.
The current Barcelona Industrial Base has over 250,000 workers and houses thousands of factories and various enterprises of large, medium, and small scales.
The Barcelona Industrial Base accounts for more than 30% of Spain’s total industrial capacity. Its current industrial scale already surpasses that of Madrid and Seville, making Catalonia the most robust industrial region in Spain.
The swift industrial development has also benefited Catalonia. As the most powerful industrial region in Spain, Catalonia’s workers enjoy the highest income among all regions in Spain.
As of the beginning of this year, the average annual income for Spaniards was about 131 Pessetas as reported by the Spanish finance department, but the average annual income in Catalonia Region has surpassed this level, reaching an impressive 144 Pessetas.
This is even after accounting for the lower income levels of Catalonia’s farmers and other low-income groups. The average income for workers at the Barcelona Industrial Base has reached 165 Pessetas, substantially exceeding the current average annual income.
The continuous growth in average income has made Catalonia’s economy quite prosperous, with the area surrounding Barcelona rivaling even Spain’s capital, Madrid.
In terms of the total economic scale of the entire region, aside from population, Andalusia can barely compare, but other regions, including Madrid, cannot match Catalonia’s total economy.
The prosperity of Catalonia has also attracted a significant number of workers domestically and internationally. Barcelona is the city in Spain that receives the most foreign immigrants each year.
The population structure in Barcelona has already undergone considerable changes, with the proportion of true Catalans gradually decreasing while the numbers of genuine Spaniards and foreign immigrants continue to increase.
This has made the more extreme Catalan nationalists see it as a threat, but they are powerless to do anything about it.
The reason Catalonia attracts domestic and foreign labor is the construction of the Barcelona Industrial Base. It isn’t feasible to stop the Industrial Base’s development.
It’s important to know that the current Barcelona Industrial Base already supports over 250,000 workers, with potential to accommodate more than another 250,000 workers in the future.
If attempts were made to halt the construction of the Barcelona Industrial Base, not considering what the Spanish Government might think, the opposition from those 500,000 workers alone would be enough to thwart the plans of these extremists.
Out of the existing 250,000 workers, more than half are Catalans. Would these Catalans, who have already found employment in the factories, support their plans?
With most extreme Catalans already either emigrated or suppressed, the remaining few extremists have no means to influence the current developments.
They lack any power to stop it, and those Catalans who have already joined the workforce and earn higher wages will not allow these minority groups to disrupt their good lives.
"Your Majesty, the third phase of the Barcelona Industrial Base construction is nearing completion, and it is expected that within a year’s time, all construction can be finalized and transition into the production phase." Ankaro Orkaho, the chief executive of the industrial base, smilingly reported to Carlo.
The construction of the Barcelona Industrial Base has spanned nearly seven years, consuming the Spanish Government’s and his entire efforts.
So far, the achievements of the Barcelona Industrial Base are rather gratifying. With the continuous construction of the Barcelona Industrial Base, Spain’s industrial scale has rapidly developed, now making it comparable to Italy.
Italy’s industrial might is by no means insignificant. Although Italy is a nation that unified only a few years ago, its predecessor, the Sardinian Kingdom, was quite strong industrially.
The unification of Italy also integrated several industrially strong states and regions in the north, further elevating Italy’s industrial capacity.
For Spain, reaching a comparable industrial scale to Italy is already a considerable accomplishment. After all, Spain took less than ten years, amidst civil war and various upheavals, to achieve this significant feat, which is quite remarkable.
Listening to Ankaro’s report, Carlo nodded, quite satisfied with the talents he had groomed from among the Spanish noble class.
Though Ankaro was a fallen noble, his inherent abilities were still worth recognizing. If the Barcelona Industrial Base can be successfully completed and fully operational, it will be regarded both as an achievement of the Spanish Government and as a personal success for Ankaro himself.