Resource Tycoon Reborn

Chapter 477 Water is more expensive than oil

In late June, East China experienced constant rains and flooding, which threatened the normal production and living order in the region. However, at this time, the weather in the Middle East was bright and sunny. In the afternoon, a scorching sun hung high in the sky, and the surface of the earth was covered with rain.

The temperature will rise sharply to above 40 degrees Celsius, and the extreme temperature can even approach or even exceed 50 degrees. In such weather, if you walk in an open area without shelter, it will not take long for people to suffer from heatstroke.

, in severe cases it may even be life-threatening.

Fang Mingyuan, who stopped for a while in Pengxu City, was convinced that the extent of the flood was far less severe than the 1991 East China flood in his previous life. He had to rush to Kuwait under the repeated urging of Prince Abdullah. As for the

The distribution of disaster relief materials in Pengxu City and surrounding areas had to be handed over to Su Aijun and Lin Lian. For this reason, Su Aijun was quite dissatisfied - his Fengtong Railway Reform Plan was nearing completion. If it weren't for Fang Mingyuan's

He found out, and now he rarely even returns home.

For Fang Mingyuan's arrival, the Kuwaiti royal family gave him a very high-level reception. If Fang Mingyuan had not sternly refused, Prince Abdullah could even send a special plane to China. Not only did Prince Abdullah personally go to the airport to greet him, but there was also a

Accompanied by Deputy Foreign Minister Nahal Wubach.

"Dear Fang! You are finally here!" Prince Abdullah gave Fang Mingyuan a warm hug as soon as they met. The happiest person for Fang Mingyuan's arrival was none other than him. Thanks to Fang Mingyuan's help, Abdullah

The prince's status in the royal family is now extraordinary. Among princes of the same age, he is even more outstanding. Prince Abdullah knows very well that without Fang Mingyuan's guidance and help, he would not have been able to succeed in such a short period of time.

Here, the status has been so obviously improved.

"Fang, let me introduce to you, this is Mr. Nahal Wubach, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Kuwait!" Prince Abdullah pulled Fang Mingyuan away.

"Hello, Mr. Wubach!" After hearing Prince Abdullah's introduction, Fang Mingyuan was really shocked. Although Kuwait is a small country, it is still a country. As the government's deputy foreign minister, he is also a country.

***, if he went to China, he would probably have to be received by the deputy prime minister, but he actually came to the airport to greet him in person! This sounds really weird.

"Haha, Mr. Fang, I have heard your name mentioned by Abdullah many times. During Iraq's invasion of our country, Mr. Fang helped us a lot. I am here to represent the Kuwait government to Mr. Fang.

Express my sincere gratitude!" After Wubach finished speaking, he gave Fang Mingyuan a very warm hug, "You are our Kuwaitis and Abdullah's closest friend!"

"No, no, no, Uncle Nahar, Fang is my brother!" Prince Abdullah shook his head repeatedly.

"Uncle?" Fang Mingyuan was a little surprised.

"Uncle Nahar is my mother's brother! Fang, you can also call him Uncle Nahar from now on!" Prince Abdullah explained to Fang Mingyuan in a low voice. If this Deputy Minister of Wubach was Prince Abdullah

Isn't his mother's brother the uncle of Prince Abdullah? Only then did Fang Mingyuan notice that the two did look a bit similar. Only then did Fang Mingyuan remember that Kuwait was still a monarchy, and many of these cabinet ministers were

Members of the royal family or relatives married to the royal family.

"Okay, okay, I get it, he's your brother Abdullah!" Wubach said with a smile. Wubach also valued his nephew very much, so he didn't care about his persistence.

Just let it be.

What's more, this Fang Mingyuan, his deeds are now somewhat bizarre among the Kuwaiti royal family. Abdullah's ability to make good friends with him can be considered as having a powerful foreign aid. After all, China is also one of the five permanent members of the United Nations.

Although its influence in the Middle East is far less than that of the United States and Britain, Kuwait cannot be ignored. Fang Mingyuan has been able to make a name for himself in China at a young age, and his future is boundless. Abdullah and

Being friends with him can be said to be beneficial and harmless.

The three of them got into the car while chatting and laughing, drove out of the airport and drove towards Kuwait City.

Fang Mingyuan noticed that there was a lot of construction going on near the coastline, and couldn't help but take a few more glances. Prince Abdullah noticed this, looked out the window twice and said with a smile: "Fang, this is your first time coming to Kuwait, it's ours."

Desalination plants! The evil Iraqis destroyed some of our desalination plants when they invaded our country."

Fang Mingyuan knows that the Middle East is a water-scarce region with considerable water shortages. In terms of land area, the Middle East accounts for nine percent of the world's land area, but its water resources only account for less than percent of the world's water resources.

One, and most of them are concentrated in the Nile, Tigris and Euphrates river basins, as well as the Jordan Valley. Drinkable fresh water is a rare and declining necessity throughout the Middle East, becoming an irreplaceable resource that is scarcer than oil.

The climate here is dry and rainfall is very low. Cairo, the capital of Egypt, is only about 200 kilometers away from the Mediterranean Sea, and the Nile River passes through the city, but the average annual precipitation is only more than 20 millimeters. Such low precipitation cannot satisfy the local demand at all.

Water demand.

Therefore, in the Middle East, the price of water in various countries is generally more expensive than the price of oil. Fang Mingyuan remembered reading a report in his previous life. He forgot which year it was. At that time, in Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil country, one liter of No. 91 gasoline

The price of a liter of bottled drinking water is about US$0.12, while a liter of bottled drinking water costs about US$0.40. In Egypt, the most populous country in the Middle East, a liter of No. 90 gasoline costs about US$0.33, while a liter of mineral water costs about US$0.33.

The price of gasoline is about US$0.34. In the United Arab Emirates, a major Gulf oil country, a liter of gasoline sells for only about US$0.45, almost the same price as water. It may sound incredible, but this is the reality in the Middle East.

.

"Fang, I heard that there is a flood in your country?" Prince Abdullah asked curiously.

"Yes, tens of millions of people were affected, and the losses were heavy." Fang Mingyuan sighed, "In the past half month, there have been heavy rains almost every two days, and even the city is full of water. Alas,

Your place is short of water and needs desalinated water, but our place is suffering from too much water. It would be great if it could be evenly distributed."

Prince Abdullah and Wubach both took a breath. Although they had known that China had a large population, they were still shocked when they heard that tens of millions of people were affected by the disaster - the total population of Kuwait was not more than

Five to six million, half of which are foreign workers in Kuwait.

"Well, this is where everyone has their own difficulties. You have floods there because of water, but here we have constant fighting because of lack of water." Wubach said with emotion.

What he is talking about is that during several Middle East wars, Israel and Arab countries have never been able to live in peace. On the one hand, it is because of land issues, and on the other hand, it is also because of water sources. Sixty percent of Israel’s territory is desert, and there are seven

There is no rain for months, and the per capita water resources per year is less than 300 cubic meters, which is less than a quarter of the per capita water resources indicator in the Middle East and only 3% of the world's per capita water resources indicator. In order to obtain precious water

resources, Israel would rather enmity with neighboring countries than give in.

Moreover, it is not uncommon for Arab countries to have conflicts and frictions over water resources.

Moreover, after the Second World War, the relatively peaceful situation and the continuously developing scientific and medical technology have also kept the population in the Middle East much higher than the world average - an average annual rapid growth of 3%, and the ever-increasing population

This has aggravated the water shortage situation. Coupled with the over-exploitation of existing water resources in the region, the per capita water resources in the region have further declined, and water resources are stretched. According to statistics, the current per capita annual fresh water possession in the region is only more than 1,000 cubic meters.

meters, which is one-sixth of the world average.

It can be said that the Middle East uses only one percent of the world's water resources to feed the Arabs, who account for about five percent of the world's total population. Water resources problems have become the main obstacle to the economic development of the region. If we say

If it cannot be properly resolved, it may even trigger a series of economic, social and political crises. Wurbach is very clear about the dangers involved.

Since traditional water resources simply cannot meet their needs, these Arab countries have to pin their hopes on seawater desalination. Seawater desalination has a long history in this region and has achieved successful experience. In the past ten years, these Arab countries have

The country has invested tens of billions of dollars in the construction of seawater desalination plants and supporting water supply pipeline networks. What Fang Mingyuan just saw are two seawater desalination plants under construction in Kuwait.

Fang Mingyuan knew that seawater desalination technology in Middle Eastern countries had become quite advanced two thousand years later, and the cost of desalination had dropped to a few tenths of a dollar per cubic meter. It was said that at that time, nearly half of the citizens of Saudi Arabia relied on seawater desalination technology for domestic water use.

.It’s just that this technology has absolutely no use for China. The arid areas of China are not close to the sea at all, and the places close to the sea are not short of water at all.

"How about it? Fang, are you interested in investing in our seawater desalination industry? I can guarantee you a sufficient profit!" Prince Abdullah said with a smile.

Fang Mingyuan laughed dumbly and said: "Prince Abdullah, if possible, I would rather invest in your country's oil extraction industry, because my motherland needs oil more!"