Industry, Energy, Transport and Trade
Industrial location
Location factors are raw materials, power, water, labour, transport, market, capital and government incentives. Primary industry extracts, secondary manufactures and tertiary provides services. Heavy industry uses bulky raw materials; light industry makes consumer goods. Footloose industries locate near markets or skilled labour.
Energy
Malawi relies on biomass (firewood and charcoal) for most household energy, which drives deforestation. Hydropower on the Shire at Nkula and Kapichira supplies grid electricity but is vulnerable to siltation and low lake levels. Solar, wind and geothermal are being developed.
Transport and trade
Road carries most freight and passengers; rail links run to Nacala and Beira; Lake Malawi is a waterway; air serves tourism and high-value exports. The balance of trade is exports minus imports, and a deficit is common. SADC and COMESA reduce tariffs between members.
Worked example
A cement plant is best sited near limestone deposits and a rail line. Reasoning: limestone is bulky and low in value, so transport cost dominates; proximity to the raw material plus rail access to market minimises total cost. The answer must explain the weighting of factors, not merely list them.
Traps
Confusing balance of trade with balance of payments; GDP with GNP; renewable with non-renewable energy; assuming all industry is footloose.