Rebirth 76: Industrial Internet Empire

The news that Zhiyuan Group and Congo-Brazzaville reached an investment agreement on the Nabeba-Pointe-Noire railway line was quickly leaked, and African countries with similar needs became more active...

The first one to come over was Cameroon, a neighboring country of Congo-Brazzaville.

They have almost the same needs as Congo-Brazzaville. The Mbalam iron ore at the junction of southeastern Cameroon and Congo-Brazzaville belongs to the same vein as the Nabeba iron ore.

Even the mining problem is the same. The Mbalam iron ore mine is located in the hilly area of ​​southeastern Cameroon. It is a full 500 kilometers away from Kribi, the nearest coastal city in Cameroon. A railway from Mbalam to Kribi needs to be built. Line, and it is also necessary to build a deep-water port in Kribi that can accommodate [-]-ton cargo ships.

The leader of Cameroon’s participation in the Asia-Africa-Latin America Development Forum this time is none other than Vice Minister of Commerce Aikambi.

After Aikambi said some polite words, he went straight to the point: "Mr. Yang, I heard that the Zhiyuan Group and the Congolese government are investing in the Nabeba iron mine, the Nabeba-Pointe-Noire railway line, and the Pointe-Noire deep-water port. In-depth development cooperation agreements have been reached on several major projects?”

"Yes, Your Excellency Minister!" Yang Mo nodded and smiled.

Aikambi continued: "Compared with the Nabeba Iron Mine, our Mbalam Iron Mine has larger reserves and is less difficult to mine. I wonder if Zhiyuan Group is interested in cooperating?"

Yang Mo shook his head and smiled: "It is easier to mine? I can't see it! As far as I know, Mbalam iron ore is all hematite, with a grade of only about 30%, and more than 50% of high-grade iron ore is less than 5 %, the nearest seaport from Mbalam Iron Mine, Kribi, is more than 500 kilometers away, and it basically has no great commercial mining value..."

"No...Mr. Yang, you may not know much about us in Cameroon. We have the best infrastructure in Africa. In the past two years, we have successively built the Songluoluo Hydropower Plant and the Laigdo Hydropower Plant. As of last year , our total power generation has reached 25 billion kilowatt-hours, if Zhiyuan Group comes to invest in Cameroon, the Cameroon government can provide you with stable and cheap power supply!" Aikambi defended with an embarrassed look.

Yang Mo still shook his head. At the current price of iron ore, the mining value of hematite like Mbalam, which accounts for about 30%, is indeed limited. However, he could also learn from the mining giants in the West and not develop it temporarily after winning the mining rights. , but the regime changes in these countries are too frequent, and they may be taken back by you at any time. If Uncle Sam's American-owned company is there, it may be a bit of a deterrent to them...

Yang Mo pondered for a long time and then said: "Your Excellency Minister, the Mbalam Iron Mine is located in a mountainous and hilly area. It is very expensive to build a dedicated railway line directly to Kribi. It is better to directly build a simple railway connecting to the Nabeba Iron Mine. Going to sea from Pointe Noire..."

Yang Mo is just trying to kill someone. Cameroon has always regarded itself as a regional power, so how can it be willing to take the Congo-Brazzaville railway line to go to sea?

As expected, Aikambi shook his head repeatedly and said: "No... no, in addition to the iron ore in Mbalam, Eastern Province and Adamawa Province, there are also large amounts of timber and other non-ferrous metal minerals and oil that need to be exported. We need Build your own rail line."

"As far as I know, in the past ten years, your government has achieved an average GDP growth rate of 9%, but its finances are actually not sufficient..." Yang Mo said with concern.

Aikambi smiled bitterly and said: "That's true. That's why I want to imitate the cooperation method between Zhiyuan and the Congo-Brazzaville government to jointly develop the mineral resources in the Eastern Province..."

Yang Mo thought for a while and said with some reluctance: "We already have the Point Noire deep-water port in Central Africa. There is no need to redundant construction. The railway line from Mbalam to Kribi can only be built by Your government is leading the construction, and Zhiyuan is willing to purchase the 3.8-year mining rights of the Mbalam iron ore for US$50 million. With this initial capital, it should be enough to build this railway line..."

"3.8 million U.S. dollars? As far as I know, the mining rights of Nabeba Iron Mine are worth 5 million U.S. dollars. The reserves of Mbalam Iron Mine are only much larger than those of Nabeba Iron Mine!" Aikambi asked in surprise.

"The Nabeba Iron Mine contains more than 50% of high-grade ore, accounting for close to 20%. You can't even get 5%, and they will build a railway line directly to the mine within five years!" Yang Mo explained .

"But we have sufficient power and water resources, which can greatly reduce your construction time and investment costs!" Aikambi argued rationally.

After some bargaining, the price of Mbalam iron ore was fixed at US$4.2 million, and a supplementary agreement was also signed: the Cameroon government must complete the construction of the dedicated railway line within seven years, otherwise, Mbalam The mining life of iron ore will be extended forever!

Subsequently, Aikambi and Zhiyuan Heavy Machinery reached a package purchase and investment agreement. The theme of the cooperation centered on the "Equipment for Resources Plan" tailored by Yang Mo for this Asia, Africa and Latin America Industrial Development Forum.

Yang Mo didn't have any sense of achievement in the negotiations with Aikambi. Cameroon is not a resource-rich country. It has many types of mineral resources, but the reserves are limited. There are almost no strategic resources that can change the relationship between supply and demand!

The news that Zhiyuan Group is undertaking the construction of the Nabeba railway line and the Pointe-Noire deep-water port terminal seems to have toppled a set of dominoes...

The first to arrive were China Harbor Engineering Company and China Railway Construction Corporation.

At this time, the infrastructure mania was still in its toddling stage, and Yang Mo was unsure. He was worried that these future infrastructure giants would be self-defeating if they went abroad ahead of time under the flapping of his butterfly wings.

Qin Ling, deputy chief engineer of China Railway Construction Corporation, who personally led the team, patiently explained Yang Mo's doubts: "Mr. Yang, as of now, China's railway operating mileage has reached more than 60000 kilometers, and the annual railway passenger and freight volume has reached 10.5 billion. People, 15 billion tons!”

"There are so many?" Yang Mo said in surprise.

Qin Ling nodded and continued: "The Chengdu-Kunming Railway, which our Railway Construction Company completed more than ten years ago, is an arduous project that is rare in the world! It needs to cross the faults of the Greater and Lesser Liangshan Mountains, cross the rough waters of the Jinsha River, and the unfavorable geological sections reach the total mileage More than half, the total extension of bridges and tunnels along the entire line, accounting for 41.6% of the line length..."

"The level of railway construction in the Mainland is so high? I'm still thinking about whether to find a foreign railway survey and design company..." Yang Mo was dumbfounded and murmured unconsciously.

"There are no problems with the survey and design. What Mr. Yang doesn't know is that the Daqin Railway under construction was surveyed and designed by our Railway Construction Company. This is also China's first heavy-haul dedicated railway for coal transportation. The total designed mileage is 653 kilometers. The proposed railway line from Nabeba to Pointe Noire is much more difficult!" Qin Ling continued.