"Some time ago, Jiangxi Province proposed to build the Zhejiang-Jiangxi-Guangdong Grand Canal, hoping to get support from the central government. What do you think of this?" the old man continued to ask.
When old man Zhao Yi asked this, he knew that his remarks in Jiujiang had finally come out. Otherwise, it would be impossible to ask him about this kind of thing. Someone must have told the central government that this matter came from his mouth.
"In fact, the construction of the Zhejiang-Jiangxi-Guangdong Grand Canal has been proposed a long time ago. I am optimistic about this. We only need to reduce environmental damage during project construction, especially the maintenance of the original ecological water system. It shouldn't be a big problem.
But the benefits are very obvious. First of all, it saves a lot of time in inland cargo transportation, which reduces the transportation costs of inland industrial development and gives the inland economy a higher development potential.
Relying on the advantages of maritime transportation, coastal areas have always been in a leading position in my country's economic development. The construction of this canal and the connection with the original Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal will create a Grand Canal transportation lifeline from north to south in the inland areas.
Although the time efficiency of water transportation is low, it is unmatched by railways and highways in terms of transportation volume. It plays an important role in reducing costs for the transportation of goods that do not require high time requirements.
My Shangtong Trading Company has built numerous large-scale warehousing centers across the country. For goods with a long shelf life, water transportation is used to reduce costs, and then the local warehousing centers deliver goods to the area, which can save a lot of time.
The most important thing is that Jiangxi currently does not have its own transportation artery to the outside world, which will seriously hinder Jiangxi's economic development. As a person from Jiangxi, of course, I hope that my hometown can develop better.
Moreover, the opening of this canal will play an important role in developing the regional economy of the central Yangtze River, Hunan, Jiangxi, and Hubei, as well as the economy of Sichuan and Chongqing in southwest China.
Moreover, the construction of this canal is not only used for cargo transportation, but also to sort out Jiangxi's original ecological water system, so that Jiangxi's water system can operate better and solve the harm caused by floods in Jiangxi. " Zhao Yi said.
After listening to Zhao Yi's story, the old man nodded, thought for a while, and said, "What do you think about private participation in this project?"
Hearing what the old man said, Zhao Yi knew that he was eyeing his own pocket, because the central government's funds would give priority to the development of railway transportation and other infrastructure, and investment in the canal would not be strongly supported at present.
Unless the railways are almost built in the future and basically meet the needs of domestic economic development, some funds will be used to maintain and construct domestic water systems. This was also done in previous lives.
But to be honest, although the "Zhejiang-Jiangxi-Guangdong" Grand Canal has great excavation value and brings high social benefits, there are not many ways to make profits for private operators.
Although this canal requires the construction of several gradient dams, the overall water level difference of these dams is not high. Although it can be used to generate electricity, the amount of power generated will not be particularly large.
Another source of income is tolls and service fees. This income may become the bulk of private capital's profits, but the charges cannot be too high, otherwise it is better to travel thousands of kilometers more.
In other words, it is not without profit for private capital to build this grand canal, but compared with the huge investment, if you want to recover the cost and make a substantial profit, the operation time must be very long.
Of course, it is basically impossible for other capital to carry out this work. No domestic capital can provide 30 billion yuan in construction funds.
To be honest, it is not difficult for Zhao Yi to come up with about 30 billion construction funds, but he is afraid that there will be a lot of trouble later, which is why he hopes the government will invest.
However, the Jiangxi government did not have the money, so it had to turn to the central government for help. However, the central government's funds were basically in a tight state, so the project was shelved.
This time the old man came to Zhao Yi and asked him for his opinion on the matter. He probably wanted to contract this project to him for investment and management, because he was the only one who was more suitable.
The first is that he owns a professional energy production company, Xinhui Energy Company, which proves that he has a strong interest in energy production. After the canal is built, the electricity generated will be considerable.
Jiangxi receives a lot of rainfall every year. This canal, which flows from south to north, has a very large annual runoff, which makes up for the disadvantages caused by the low water level difference.
The second is that he has a lot of industrial production enterprises, especially the regional economic balance plan implemented by him and the central government. His enterprises account for a very high share of export commodities produced in the mainland, and they have urgent demand.
Although in terms of direct benefits, if he invests, the returns will basically go to him. This does not mean that there are no benefits to the country and local governments, but the benefits they receive are indirect, and the overall benefits will be greater than the direct benefits.
First of all, it provides new impetus for local and inland economic development. Modern industry is based on convenient transportation. The country also understands this truth, otherwise there would be no slogan "If you want to get rich, build roads first."
Secondly, after the construction of this project is completed, it can play a role in regulating water volume, reducing the occurrence of local floods and droughts, and playing an important role in maintaining local agriculture and ecology.
The 30 billion construction funds he mentioned are for the construction of high-standard waterways. It is hoped that ships of 2,000 tons can pass through the entire route, and ships of 5,000 tons can pass through some sections. This will not only increase transportation volume, but also save transportation costs.
"In fact, private investment is not impossible, but the payback period is very long. If the government can provide a longer operating cycle, it is still worth doing." Zhao Yi said.
Hearing what Zhao Yi said, a smile suddenly appeared on the old man's face. He didn't care how much benefit he got from private investment. Since Zhao Yi said that he had given enough operating time, the government would just give it.
"How about you invest in this canal? Are you willing to accept this responsibility?" the old man asked.
Although he had been prepared in his heart, he was still a little uncomfortable when the old man said it so directly. Shouldn't such a national plan be discussed and discussed over and over again, and then decided so hastily
However, he did not hesitate and said: "If the government can trust me, I am still willing to accept this task and try to get this matter done.
However, I feel that just building a "Zhejiang-Jiangxi-Guangdong" canal is not enough to show the advantages brought by this canal. We need to open up more canal transportation networks around this canal. "
Hearing what Zhao Yi said, the old man suddenly became more interested and said, "Oh, tell me specifically what you think. There is nothing that cannot be discussed here."
Hearing what the old man said, Zhao Yi stopped hiding and said: "In fact, it is completely possible to open up the Hunan-Jiangxi Canal and dig a 20-kilometer artificial river between Pingxiang and Luxi County in Jiangxi to connect Yuanshui and Pingshui. Connecting Ganjiang River and Xiangjiang River, with a total length of 320 kilometers
In this way, the water system of Hunan and the water system of Jiangxi can be connected, making the transportation of goods in Hunan more convenient, without having to go north around the Yangtze River.
In addition, a Fujian-Jiangxi canal will be dug, and an artificial river of about 15 kilometers will be dug between Guangze County and Nancheng County to connect the tributaries of the Min River and the Fu River.
It is only 800 kilometers from Fuzhou through the Fujian-Jiangxi Canal such as the Yangtze River. It will be very competitive to use a large number of excellent deep-water ports along the coast of Fujian as mass import commodity ports.
In this case, these canal water systems can connect Hunan, Jiangxi, Hubei, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangzhou, forming a regional water transportation network, which will have huge benefits for the economic development of these areas. "
Zhao Yi mentioned the latter two canals here to increase the importance of the "Zhejiang-Jiangxi-Guangdong" canal. Before the construction of this canal is completed, the construction of the other two canals cannot be put on the agenda.
But the old man was still shocked by the scene described by Zhao Yi. In fact, as he said, if all these canals are completed, they will play an important role in the development of the southern economy.
Although water transport is slow, its transport volume is unmatched by railways and roads. Not to mention road transport, compared with railway transport, the water transport volume is 5 to 10 times. If efficient gate crossing machinery and equipment are used, the transport volume will be greater. high.
This plays an important role in the transportation of bulk goods, such as steel, coal, wood, oil, etc., and has advantages that cannot be replaced by railways.
To build all these canals, Zhao Yi estimates that the total investment will be about 50 billion yuan. Based on the annual cargo volume of 1 billion tons in the entire basin, and the average ship lock service fee of 2 yuan per ton of cargo, it will be about 2 billion yuan per year. .
The rest is the income from hydropower generation. In addition to using part of the electricity to maintain the operation of the hub, the other part can be connected to the grid to generate electricity.
The calculation of this part of the income is relatively complicated and cannot be calculated yet. According to the minimum calculation, there should be a net income of 500 million yuan per year.
In other words, if maintenance costs are not included, it will take about 20 years to recover the investment. The actual situation will be longer, and it is estimated that it will take 30 years to recover the cost.
To be honest, with such a long investment payback period, ordinary private capital is unwilling to participate. If the money is used for other things, the profit will definitely be much more than this.
However, it is much more difficult for an individual with a very large amount of capital like Zhao Yi to make as high a profit as a small capital, so he is still more enthusiastic about large-scale projects because this part of the income is very stable.
Just like his large-scale urbanization, if it is purely a rental operation, the return will actually be very slow, but what he pursues is stable and sustained income, not getting rich overnight.
Afterwards, the two parties started a simple discussion on the investment conditions, because the annual return rate was indeed very low, only less than a pitiful 5%, which was lower than the interest rate placed in the bank.
In addition, the assets in Zhao Yi's hands have increased in value at an alarming rate over the years, so when Zhao Yi proposed that the operating time be 99 years, the old man did not bargain.
In this way, several canal projects with a total investment of 50 billion yuan and a construction period of 5 years were decided. The next step was to hire water conservancy experts to conduct scientific demonstrations on these ideas before starting construction.
As for the engineering equipment and water conservancy generating units used in the construction of water conservancy hubs, Zhao Yi will let his own companies be responsible for the research and development and production, so that the fertilizer and water will not flow to outsiders.
In addition, Tianshu Machinery Company is also required to develop large-scale canal excavation machinery to speed up canal excavation and river cleaning work. Otherwise, the five years will be a bit tight, and efficiency must be improved on construction machinery.
Calculated based on the 99-year operation period, excluding construction costs, Zhao Yi can make a profit of about 3 times during the entire operation period, which means that the total profitability is about 150 billion yuan.
Although the annual profit of 5% seems very low at present, excess capital is inevitable in the future. By then, it will not be so easy to obtain a stable annual profit of 5%. The most important thing is that this work is not risky. High and stable.
Moreover, Zhao Yi can also use high technology to increase the shipping volume of waterways, improve power generation efficiency, and provide additional high-quality services to comprehensively improve profitability. In fact, it should be higher than 5%, but it will not exceed 10% at most. %,Definitely.
Although the government has granted a 99-year operating right, this means that the service life of these water conservancy hubs must exceed 100 years. Otherwise, it is impossible to continue operating for such a long time.
This requires Zhao Yi to improve the service life of these water conservancy hubs and research more advanced construction technologies. According to the current domestic water conservancy facility technology, it still cannot reach this level.
So this not only gave Zhao Yi a fat cake, but also prompted him to work hard on water conservancy construction technology and materials. Otherwise, even if he is given a 99-year profit cycle, it will break down in less than 50 years, and it will be useless. .
However, now that he has participated in the construction of domestic water conservancy hubs, Zhao Yi is thinking about those large-scale hub projects in his previous life. The benefits brought by these hub projects are even more considerable.
Just like the construction of the Three Gorges Dam in the previous life, the annual power generation alone reached nearly 100 billion kilowatt hours. If we use our own more efficient generating units, the power generation will be even higher.
Even if the on-grid electricity fee is calculated at 0.1 yuan per kilowatt-hour, the annual power generation revenue will reach about 10 billion yuan. The total investment in the Three Gorges Dam only requires more than 30 billion yuan, which is quite cost-effective.
"In fact, water conservancy hub facilities can be built in many places in our country. First, they can be used to regulate water volume and prevent flood disasters. Second, they can greatly increase the proportion of hydropower in my country's total power generation and increase the proportion of clean energy." Zhao Yi said.
In fact, the country is currently building the Gezhouba hub. Construction started in 1974. According to historical trajectory, it will be completed in 1988.
Therefore, the country is still very interested in developing my country's water conservancy resource advantages and building water conservancy hubs. However, the investment scale of these large water conservancy hubs is very large, and it is very difficult to develop them solely relying on national finance.
Compared with building an efficient transportation network, the importance of water conservancy hub projects is weaker, especially when our country currently has basically no shortage of electricity.
Because over the years, Xinhui Energy Company has built a large number of thermal power plants every year, which not only ensures the demand for electricity for my country's economic development, but also basically guarantees the power supply to the vast rural areas.
At present, the national fiscal revenue is only more than 1 trillion yuan, which includes central finance and local finance. 55% of the fiscal revenue needs to be used to support national welfare, and the remaining is only a few hundred billion yuan.
Of these hundreds of billions of dollars, there is basically not much left to support civil servants across the country, develop local infrastructure, build national infrastructure, and spend on national defense.
As for adding construction costs to electricity bills and levying additional construction fees from the people as in previous lives, the current government is unlikely to adopt this method.
Although the salary level of domestic people has indeed increased a lot in recent years, it is nothing compared with the previous plan to expand domestic demand, and expanding domestic demand is now basically a national plan.
Under this guidance, not only should we not increase the living burden of the people, but we should also reduce it, so as to expand domestic demand and form an internal market cycle.
When the old man heard what Zhao Yi said, he did not take up his topic and continue. Instead, he nodded lightly and said: "We will have relevant discussions about these. It is too early to discuss now."
Obviously, he was unwilling to continue to discuss this issue in depth. Seeing this, Zhao Yi stopped talking about this issue. Anyway, his meaning had been conveyed.
In the future, if he really needs funds, they will naturally come to him. If not, he has no way to intervene. After all, these are national resources, and in the end, the government still needs to nod and agree.
However, since the energy issue was discussed, Zhao Yi planned to take advantage of the time to finish the matter. Some time ago, he developed photovoltaic coatings at Cornerstone Materials Company, which has a very high photoelectric conversion rate and already has a basis for extensive promotion.
But this is not what Xinhui Energy Company wants to build. Large photovoltaic power plants require a large amount of space and the cooperation of the State Grid.
Therefore, he said: “With the continued development of the global economy and the intensification of industrialization, environmental pollution will become a problem that has to be faced, and changes in the atmospheric structure will bring direct catastrophic consequences.
In the future, the proportion of thermal power generation in the world will gradually decrease, and the proportion of photovoltaic, hydropower, and nuclear power generation will become higher and higher, and will become new international energy sources.
Fortunately, some time ago, Cornerstone Materials Company conquered a photovoltaic coating, and the photoelectric conversion efficiency reached an astonishing 60%, which has laid the foundation for the construction of large-scale photovoltaic power plants.
Although the efficiency will not be so high in actual application scenarios, it is still around 50%. Therefore, Xinhui Energy Company plans to build a large number of such photovoltaic power plants and hopes to obtain government support. "
In the next period of time, Xinhui Energy Company will gradually reduce the construction of thermal power plants and begin to increase construction funds in the fields of nuclear energy and photovoltaic power generation.
Compared with nuclear energy, although photovoltaic power generation occupies a large area, it is much safer. Because it is a paint, the energy consumption during the production process is much lower than that of silicon crystal, making it very suitable for large-scale promotion.
In fact, the places in my country that are more suitable for building photovoltaic power plants are mainly XZ, XJ, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Hebei, Ningxia and the Qaidam Basin in Qinghai Province.
Most of these places are vast and sparsely populated, and the land issue is not prominent. The only issue that requires close cooperation from the state is grid connection for power generation. (End of chapter)