Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 615 Investing in Factories
The discovery of oil in Oman means more than just possessing oil reserves for Spain. This oil needs to be transported to Spain for processing, and the oil refining industry provides numerous jobs, thus boosting Spain's industrial and economic development.

After announcing this good news, the Spanish government immediately decided to establish a large oil industrial zone in Spain, specifically to process oil transported from the Persian Gulf coast to Spain, and then sell the products to Europe and the world.

The importance of petroleum goes without saying. Diesel and gasoline, which are processed from crude oil, are essential fuels for both military and civilian applications.

Other petroleum products also play an extremely important role in industrial and civilian sectors. Simply put, the finished products manufactured by Spanish oil refineries have no trouble finding a market, so building such an industrial zone is a sure-fire way to make money.

After internal discussions within the Spanish government, it was ultimately decided to invest 8500 million pesetas to build a large oil refining industrial zone.

After this large oil industrial zone is completed, Spain's production of gasoline, diesel, and other energy products, as well as petrochemical products, will increase significantly.

This will not only effectively reduce fuel prices in Spain, but also allow the Spanish government to earn foreign exchange by exporting large quantities of petroleum products.

Because oil industrial zones are more like transit hubs, they must be located by the sea, preferably next to a port, to facilitate the transportation of oil and petroleum products.

After careful consideration, the Spanish government ultimately chose Valencia, the capital of the state of Valencia, as the location for this large oil industrial zone.

There's a reason for choosing this location. First, many coastal cities on the north and south coasts aren't suitable, since oil is transported from the Persian Gulf to mainland Spain, and the closest cities are definitely on the east coast of Spain.

If we're talking about the most suitable choices, there are actually three: Barcelona, ​​Tarragona, the capital of Catalonia, and Valencia, the capital of Valencia.

Barcelona is now the largest city in Spain, ranking first in the country in terms of population, industry, and economy.

Placing the oil industry zone in Barcelona would not be conducive to the industrial and economic development of other parts of Spain, which is why Barcelona was ruled out from the start.

Of the remaining two options, Tarragona and Valencia, Valencia is definitely the most suitable choice. As the capital of the state of Valencia, Valencia has a much larger population than Tarragona and is also more convenient to access.

Although Tarragona is also the capital of Catalonia, the transportation hub of Catalonia is actually in Barcelona.

Tarragona is far inferior to Valencia in terms of both population and transportation convenience.

The Valencia oil industrial park is expected to have an investment of 8500 million pesetas and a planned construction period of one and a half years. Adding the time needed for factory setup and production preparation, the oil industrial park is expected to be operational as early as two and a half years from now.

This is definitely good news for Spain. It is estimated that this large oil industrial zone will provide at least 10 jobs for Spain, significantly boost the economy and industry of Valencia, and attract a large number of workers to settle in Valencia.

Don't underestimate the allure of industry. With rapid industrial development, population and economic growth have also been remarkably rapid.

It is foreseeable that Valencia's population will increase significantly after the completion of the Valencia oil industrial zone.

Valencia is now the second most populous state in Spain. Riding the wave of the oil industry development, Valencia has a chance to surpass Andalusia to become the most populous administrative region in Spain, a significant achievement for local officials. Tarragona's loss to Valencia in the industrial zone competition is a considerable blow to Catalonia.

After all, Barcelona, ​​Spain's largest city, was separated from Catalonia. If Barcelona is included, Catalonia is one of the top countries in Spain in terms of both population and industry.

To compensate the state of Catalonia, and also the city of Tarragona, the Spanish government has decided to make an additional investment in Tarragona to build a small industrial zone, primarily for the processing of agricultural products.

Spain is now a major food exporter, exporting large quantities of grain and other agricultural products every year.

Instead of selling all of them as grains, vegetables, and fruits, it would be better to process some of the agricultural products into canned goods and other processed products, which could then be sold at higher prices.

The importance of canned goods goes without saying; various canned meats, vegetables, and fruits were crucial supplies for the Spanish army during the war.

Why are the Spanish army's benefits envied by soldiers in other European countries? It's because the Spanish government invests heavily in soldiers' rations, even going so far as to produce large quantities of canned goods and transport them to the front lines.

Although the war was over, the market for canned food did not disappear; instead, it was quickly accepted by the public.

Whether it's canned meat or canned fruits and vegetables, the taste is generally above average. More importantly, these canned goods can be opened and eaten directly, which is indeed a good food option for people who don't have much free time.

Currently, Spain is probably the only country that can afford to invest heavily in industrial development domestically.

Other countries, either due to the flu or the aftermath of the world war, were simply unable to build up their industries at that time.

Let alone building industries, most countries in the world have not yet emerged from economic recession and industrial contraction.

Looking at the situation in Britain and France makes it clear that Spain is ultimately an exception, and the people of other countries are still suffering greatly.

The cruelty of this flu was not its extremely high mortality rate, but rather the severe damage it caused to the industrial and economic development of Europe and the world.

With industrial and economic development severely disrupted, numerous factories and businesses were forced to shut down or even go bankrupt due to the flu.

This will only worsen the situation for the people. With factories and businesses going bankrupt, people will lose their jobs.

Even if the factory or business doesn't go bankrupt, temporary shutdowns mean no income whatsoever. Losing a source of income during such a severe flu pandemic speaks volumes.

These scenes are now playing out in Europe and around the world, which is why this flu has recorded tens of millions of deaths.

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(End of this chapter)