“Even if we don’t invest, someone else will.”
"Your purpose for this trip is not only to buy private islands, but also to acquire investment rights in the Maldives' airports, electricity, communications, highways, and even banks!"
"We are Wujiang Group, and I believe the Maldives side will fully understand what our investment in the Maldives will mean! So, you can confidently and boldly negotiate and strive to achieve all our goals!"
The head of the inspection team nodded and replied, "Okay, Chairman Zhao, I understand what you mean. Don't worry, we will definitely complete the mission!"
"Hmm!" Zhao Ye nodded slightly, smiled, and patted the other person's shoulder.
The Maldives receives over one million tourists annually, a third of whom are Chinese. Since 2012, China has been the Maldives' largest source of tourists, with 300,000 to 400,000 Chinese tourists visiting each year. However, in recent years, the number of Chinese tourists to the Maldives has decreased, and India has become the main source of tourists for the Maldives.
During peak tourist seasons in China, many scenic spots are indeed packed with people, leading many to choose to travel abroad instead.
If you absolutely must travel abroad, Zhao Ye thinks you could go to countries that are friendly to Chinese tourists.
If someone looks down on you, why bother going to their country to travel and spend money? It's like offering a warm welcome to someone who doesn't appreciate it.
Zhao Ye considered that many people would indeed travel abroad, so Wujiang Group could purchase some private islands overseas and develop them to meet the travel needs of some people.
...
At lunchtime, Zhan Jiancheng, CEO of Wujiang Hydropower Group, sat down opposite Zhao Ye with his tray in the company cafeteria.
The two ate and chatted.
"Chairman Zhao, Southeast Asian countries are rich in hydropower resources, which are suitable for our investment."
"For example, Cambodia's Mekong River basin has the potential to build multiple hydropower stations. Laos is known as the 'battery of Southeast Asia,' with more than 20 rivers over 200 kilometers long. Myanmar has four major rivers—the Irrawaddy, Salween, Chindwin, and Sedang—and numerous tributaries, offering enormous hydropower potential. Vietnam has over 3,450 river systems and a dense network of waterways, with its hydropower resources mainly concentrated in the Red River and Mekong River basins, where the average annual rainfall is approximately 1,800 to 2,000 millimeters..."
"We've carefully considered the investment invitations we've received from various countries and decided that we should prioritize investing in the Son La Hydropower Station, the largest hydropower station in Vietnam, and the Bakong Hydropower Station in Malaysia, the largest hydropower station in Southeast Asia..."
"Furthermore, regarding Africa, our researchers believe that investing in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is a viable option. Once completed, it will become Africa's largest hydroelectric power station and the world's seventh largest, with a total investment of approximately $4.8 billion. Ethiopia's willingness to cooperate is very strong; they are eager to facilitate this collaboration. Oh, by the way..."
Zhan Jiancheng seemed to have thought of something, paused for a moment, and then smiled and said, "The Congolese government in Africa proposed the 'Dainga Dam Project.' After our engineers inspected the project, they were stunned."
"What's wrong with this project?" Zhao Ye asked curiously, taking a bite of rice.
Zhan Jiancheng smiled and said, "This proposed hydroelectric dam will be built on the Congo River. The dam is designed to output an average of one megawatt of electricity per year, almost twice that of my country's Three Gorges Dam, making it the world's largest hydroelectric power project. The electricity generated by the dam is estimated to be enough to power nearly half of the African continent. The Tainga Dam is expected to cost $100 billion, far exceeding the cost of the Three Gorges Dam, including the cost of the transmission lines needed to transmit its electricity across the continent..."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Ye couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.
Zhan Jiancheng continued, "The deepest point of the Congo River reaches 150 meters, with a water level drop of about 280 meters. The rapid current provides a continuous source of power for power generation. At the mouth of the Congo River, the average annual flow exceeds 40,000 m³/s, and the historical maximum flow reached as high as 80,000 m³/s, easily surpassing the Nile River and firmly ranking first on the entire African continent. In terms of the conditions of the Congo River, its power generation advantage is more obvious than that of the Yangtze River, and it is indeed fully capable of building a larger-scale super hydropower station!"
Zhao Ye nodded and asked, "President Zhan, do you think we should invest in this project?"
After considering for half a minute, Zhan Jiancheng replied, "I believe it's worth investing in. This is an opportunity for our Wujiang Hydropower Group. The Dayinga Hydropower Station will certainly generate attractive power generation benefits. However, for long-distance power transmission, ultra-high voltage AC and DC transmission technologies will be a major obstacle to sending hydropower out of the country. Currently, our technicians are researching ultra-high voltage DC transmission technology. If we can achieve a breakthrough, then we will have the opportunity to provide a new impetus for long-distance power transmission in Africa! At that time, a hydropower transmission solution across the African continent will be a piece of cake!"
Zhao Ye pondered in silence. Putting aside whether the project would proceed smoothly, even if the Dayinga Hydropower Station was completed, there were too many poor countries in Africa, and what would happen if they couldn't afford electricity?
However, if Africa has electricity, they should be able to develop quickly and become a huge market... which would be quite advantageous for Wujiang Group.
Zhao Ye hesitated, after all, the investment was too large.
“Chairman Zhao, we’re not the only companies interested in this project. We can collaborate with other companies to develop it together,” Zhan Jiancheng said.
“In that case, we can participate in the investment and construction, but we don’t need to take the lion’s share.” Zhao Ye finally decided to invest in this largest hydropower station project in Africa. Not to mention the economic benefits, it would also increase Wujiang Group’s influence in Africa.
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