African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 332: Chapter 15 Kitui Coal Mine

Nairobi City.

After several months of maneuvering, the machines transported from the Venice region were finally reassembled. As the boiler was ignited, the roar of machines resounded in Nairobi City.

The Austrian commercial mission that had come to East Africa also halted at Mombasa, as they were temporarily not very interested in inland development. However, a few adventurous businessmen were willing to venture further inland to Nairobi and Kisumu to complete the next phase of their mission.

So they chose to leave the mission, and after negotiating with the East African government, officials from Nairobi and Kisumu accompanied them to complete the mission.

The Austrian businessman Ramoskato was particularly interested in Nairobi City, which was being planned as a textile city in East Africa.

Mayor Vallejo of Nairobi City: ”Mr. Ramoskato, you see, what we said initially was not an exaggeration! In a very short time, Nairobi City can develop rapidly. Now Nairobi has completed its initial industrialization. This is the textile industrial park built by the Heixinggen Daily Necessities Company, where over five thousand people have already started working in the textile industry. With more machinery and equipment arriving in the future, Nairobi City’s textile industry will further improve, and the number of textile workers will also increase.”

Currently, the textile sector has not yet been separated from the Heixinggen Daily Necessities Company, so the investment is completed by the Heixinggen Daily Necessities Company.

Ramoskato: ”Hmm! The efficiency here in East Africa is indeed high. However, I would like to know how you ensure the energy supply for this city’s industrial development.”

This is particularly important for Ramoskato. He is certain that East Africa has the capacity to develop a textile industry, but he needs to assess the costs himself. Ramoskato doesn’t know much about East Africa, so he needs to obtain effective information from the East African government.

Vallejo: ”You don’t need to worry about that at all. Currently, the energy supply of Nairobi City mainly relies on the coal resources from Mbeya City. The transportation costs are indeed relatively high. However, according to information from the Central Government, a coal mine has been discovered near Kitui Town, between Nairobi and Mombasa. The preliminary estimated reserves are in the million-ton scale, sufficient to meet Nairobi and Mombasa’s energy needs.”

The coal mine near Kitui certainly has more than that. The geological surveyors employed by East Africa have already identified reserves over 40 million tons, but the Kitui area still has significant potential. It is predicted that its coal reserves will exceed 100 million tons. In addition to coal resources, as East Africa ramps up investment in the northern industrial belt and the Lake Malawi industrial zone, more and more resources are being discovered. Just southeast of Kenya, south of Kitui, the East African government has already discovered an iron mine, and its reserves are still being estimated.

Kitui is right in the middle between Mombasa and Nairobi, closer to Nairobi, so it will prioritize supplying the Nairobi area. As for Mombasa, some coal resources will be chosen to be imported via sea transport from the British Indian colonies and the Middle East.

Ramoskato: ”Then why didn’t we see Kitui Town on our way here?”

Ramoskato had come by carriage all the way from Mombasa to Nairobi and didn’t notice any town in between.

Vallejo: ”The discovery of the Kitui Town coal mine happened not long ago, so Kitui Town is not very large yet and remains at the scale of the original village. Because of the coal resource discovery, it was elevated to a township status just a month ago. Plus, the road you took was south of Kitui Town, so there’s quite a distance from Kitui Town, which is why you didn’t see it.”

Ramoskato: ”Hmm, then can I go see it?”

Ramoskato still preferred to see Kitui Town with his own eyes. It would be clear whether there was coal by seeing if there were any mines locally.

Vallejo: ”Of course you can, but the journey from Nairobi to Kitui Town takes three days, with a distance of over a hundred kilometers. The conditions there are currently quite poor, so it would be best for you to consider this carefully first.”

Ramoskato: ”No problem, for me, any personal matter is best confirmed by myself. Otherwise, I won’t be able to sleep at night.”

Since Ramoskato said so, Vallejo did not try to dissuade him further. He was only worried that Ramoskato might not adapt to the environment in Kitui Town. Although it had been upgraded from a village to a town, Kitui was previously established as a temporary village. Kitui is in a relatively water-scarce area, so initially, there were only about a dozen pastoral families. East Africa was very late in developing there, and the local conditions are harsh.

Vallejo: ”Alright then, but it would be better to plan this matter after you’ve finished your survey of Nairobi City. We will send someone to show you the situation in Kitui Town by then.”

Next, Vallejo continued to accompany Ramoskato around Nairobi City. The urban area of Nairobi is not large and is mainly divided into three parts: a West District, an East District, and a textile park.

The first two are residential areas. The East District is the earliest residence site for immigrants in Nairobi, while the West District is the residence for new immigrants.

The population structure of the East District is relatively balanced, while the West District reveals a strong Italian lifestyle. It’s apparent that the residents of the water city have not yet adapted to this highland life inland in East Africa.

Venice is quite humid, whereas Nairobi is dry. Due to a relatively thin atmosphere, the sunlight is also quite bright.

Ramoskato found the West District much more novel than the East District. As a native Austrian, it wasn’t his first time seeing so many Italians. He had been to Trieste, which also housed quite a few Italian residents living alongside German people, but there weren’t as many Orientals. The West District combined German, Italian, and Oriental characteristics.

Curiously, Ramoskato asked: ”How many Germans are there in the West District?”

Vallejo: ”Our number of Germans is about more than seven thousand, with over forty thousand Italians and over thirty thousand Orientals.”

These figures are definitely problematic. In the Austro-Hungarian Empire, all ethnic immigrants to East Africa would be counted as Germans, so Ramoskato believed that the actual number of Germans should be around two thousand, but Vallejo would not reveal this to him.

Left in the dark, Ramoskato continued to ask: ”Most of the German residents here should be from Austria, right?”

Vallejo: ”Well, they mainly come from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and a significant number are from the German regions of Saar and Lorraine.”

Ramoskato: ”You indeed have done well in the field of immigration. When I surveyed rural areas in Austria and Hungary, I saw many organizations recruiting immigrants to East Africa, so how many immigrants did you approximately recruit from the Austro-Hungarian Empire over the years?”

Vallejo shook his head and replied: ”That I don’t know. I am just a small mayor and don’t have an understanding of the overall data of the kingdom. However, based on the situation in Nairobi, I would estimate the immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian Empire to be at least over five hundred thousand, and this doesn’t include German immigrants.”

As Vallejo said, he is not aware of the overall immigrant data of the kingdom, so his estimate of Austro-Hungarian immigrants is too conservative. As the second-largest source country for East African kingdom immigration, the Austro-Hungarian immigrant numbers have long surpassed the million-mark, and the number of German immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian Empire ranks just after the Southern German states.