Chapter 230: Preparation for Future Droughts

Chapter 230: Preparation for Future Droughts

Chapter 230: Preparation for Future Droughts

Time quickly came to the end of June.

During this period, Yang Wendong was more concerned about the shipyard project in Zuijiu Bay, Kwai Chung.

A more professional team conducted seabed topography mapping in Drunken Bay and considered various other factors to calculate the reclamation cost required to build a dock here.

September 9, Geely Building:

Yang Wendong is reading a newspaper.

"Knock, knock, knock~" There was a knock on the door. Yang Wendong looked up and saw that it was Zheng Zhijie, so he greeted him and said, "Come in."

Zheng Zhijie walked in and said, "Mr. Yang, I have a few things to report to you."

"Okay." Yang Wendong also put down the newspaper.

Zheng Zhijie said: "We may need to suspend construction at the residential construction site in Causeway Bay for three days because there is no water. Many construction processes require a lot of water."

"Water shortage?" After listening, Yang Wendong asked, "Is there no water coming from the water plant?"

Zheng Zhijie replied: "No, there is still running water, but it is always intermittent and the water pressure is low, so we need to stop work for three days to store enough water in the water tank before resuming work.

There are many things on the construction site that require water, and there must be enough water. Otherwise, if there is no water halfway through, there will be great losses. The most common thing is mixing cement."

"Well, OK, I understand this." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Water shortage is a problem facing the entire Hong Kong society, and it is normal for us to be affected.

Then give the workers three days off so they can have a rest."

The most serious water shortage crisis in Hong Kong’s history occurred in 1963, but it had already begun in 58.

The current Governor of Hong Kong, Robert Black, negotiated with the mainland in 59 to transport water from Guangdong Province and opened a pipeline to a reservoir in Guangdong Province.

But in 62-63, the drought worsened and the rivers in eastern Guangdong Province near Hong Kong ran out of water, leading to the outbreak of the largest drought in Hong Kong's history.

Finally, the Hong Kong government negotiated with the mainland to build a large canal to bring water from the Dongjiang River, which solved the problem.

During the drought in Hong Kong, not only ordinary people suffered, but the entire industry and commerce were seriously affected, because too many industries were affected by water shortages, and even power generation required a large amount of water.

"It's already holiday." Zheng Zhijie said, "The second thing is that the reclamation budget for Drunken Bay has come out. The reclamation cost for building a dock is estimated to be around HK$600 million.

I also asked Zheng Yuhua, and it would cost about seven or eight million to build a large-scale shipyard and dock."

"That would cost over 10 million." Yang Wendong nodded and asked, "How much does it cost to acquire this piece of land?"

Zheng Zhijie replied: "It's not expensive. It's not deserted, but it's not a good location either. Even if it's bigger, three or five hundred thousand will be enough."

"Hmm." Yang Wendong thought for a moment and asked, "Then we can get more land for reclamation. Maybe when the business gets better in the future, we will need to expand the dock."

This possibility does exist. In the future, Kwai Chung will be the place where all ships in Hong Kong gather, and the demand for ship maintenance and repair will inevitably be very high.

The existing shipyards will be closed or relocated in the next ten years or so due to the high value of land development. Then, we may have a chance to grab a larger market.

"It should be possible. This requires negotiation with the Hong Kong government," said Zheng Zhijie.

Yang Wendong asked again: "Has the Hong Kong government agreed to this?"

"No official documents have been issued yet, and the process has not been completed." Zheng Zhijie said: "Generally they will not disagree.

The Hong Kong government has always implemented the principle of a free market. Except for water, electricity, gas, and buses, which are restricted for daily necessities, as long as normal businesses apply, they will agree to other things.”

"Okay, get the license as soon as possible, so I can feel more at ease." Yang Wendong nodded and said.

The container revolution has become a trend in global shipping, but its popularization is slow due to limitations in infrastructure and millions of workers.

Before, Yang Wendong was not sure whether the current top leaders in Hong Kong had any ideas in this regard. Now it seems that even if they knew about this, they did not invest a lot of energy in finding a suitable position.

In other words, I haven’t found Kwai Chung yet, which gives me the upper hand.

"Okay, I will urge the Hong Kong government as soon as possible." Zheng Zhijie agreed.

Yang Wendong picked up the phone and dialed a short number, and said to Zheng Zhijie at the same time: "Let Zheng Yuhua come over as well, and discuss it together."

"It's my duty." Zheng Zhijie nodded.

……

They were all in the same building, and two minutes after receiving the boss's call, Zheng Yuhua arrived at Yang Wendong's office on the top floor.

"Mr. Yang." Zheng Yuhua greeted.

"Sit down." Yang Wendong gestured and said, "There has been some progress in Zuijiu Bay... Old Zheng, please tell me in detail."

"Okay." Zheng Zhijie quickly informed Zheng Yuhua of the matter.

After hearing this, Zheng Yuhua said happily: "That's great, it will be much more convenient to have our own dock.

The fact that Swire, Wheelock and Jardine Matheson have grown so big is largely due to their own shipyards.

Yang Wendong asked again: "Where are those people? Are they recruited directly from several shipyards in Hong Kong?"

Zheng Yuhua said: "Yes, I know quite a few professional engineers in this field. As for ordinary employees, we can also train them ourselves in the later stage."

Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Well, then you guys cooperate, set the overall budget and time, and build the dock as soon as possible."

"Okay." Zheng Yuhua agreed and asked, "Mr. Yang, the cost of this dock is also quite high. As for the funding? We still need to go to the bank."

"I know that." Yang Wendong said, "After the Hong Kong government issues the license, I will go to HSBC's Sanders to have a chat, and also discuss going to Japan to buy a new ship."

"Thank you, Yang Sheng." Zheng Yuhua said with a smile.

Yang Wendong added: "There is another thing. You should also know about the water shortage in Hong Kong, right?"

"I know." Zheng Yuhua naturally knew that the whole of Hong Kong had been affected.

Even if you live in a mansion, your water supply may be cut off at any time. Perhaps only the super rich will not be directly affected.

Yang Wendong added: "Our original plan for future ship purchases was to buy both new and old ships.

The new ships are used for the shipping company’s own business, and the old ships are used to ship Changxing Industrial’s products to sea. But I want to buy more old ships to do offshore business.”

"Offshore business?" Zheng Yuhua is also a smart man. Thinking of the drought just mentioned, he asked, "Mr. Yang, are you thinking of buying water from the mainland and then shipping it back to Hong Kong?" "Yes." Yang Wendong nodded.

The best way to transport water on a large scale is naturally to build canals, but this takes too long. In the original history, Dongjiang water was not completely introduced into Hong Kong until 1965. In addition, large-scale fresh water reserves were built within Hong Kong, which solved the water shortage problem that had plagued Hong Kong for decades.

65 years ago, water supply for millions of people in Hong Kong and a large number of industrial, commercial and construction industries was extremely tight. The average person could only get one liter of water every three days, which was barely enough for drinking.

The impact on industry was even more serious. In 1963, Hong Kong's industrial exports experienced a rare decline. As Hong Kong's largest industrial group, Changxing Industries would only be larger in a few years and the impact would only be more serious.

Whether for his own interests or for the survival difficulties of millions of Chinese in Hong Kong, he needs to plan for this disaster earlier and make preparations early. Although he cannot defeat natural disasters, he can at least minimize the losses and make millions of ordinary people more comfortable.

Zheng Yuhua thought for a moment and said, "Mr. Yang, from my personal point of view, the more people who carry water, the better.

But from the company's perspective, none of us knows whether the drought will continue. Maybe a big typhoon will come and there will be water in eastern Guangdong, and then the water transport ships will have no business. "

"If that's the case, I'd be even happier." Yang Wendong said with a smile, "At worst, the old ship can just be used to do normal shipping business nearby.

You also said that one of the biggest costs of old ships is maintenance and repair. We will soon have a shipyard, so we can save on this and it is impossible to lose money."

Right now, because Hong Kong is short of water, the Hong Kong government has commissioned some Hong Kong cargo ships to buy water from deep in the mainland and transport it back to Hong Kong.

This can also be considered a business, and the Hong Kong government pays for it. However, for Yang Wendong, there are too many ways to make money in the future. If it is just for the sake of making money, there is no need to get involved in this.

The reason for making the arrangements now is that when the drought becomes very severe, there will not be enough ships.

In this day and age, shipping can make big money because of the shortage of ships. If the Hong Kong government needs a few ships now, that’s easy to deal with. But if the drought is severe in another year, dozens of ships will suddenly be needed. Where will so many empty ships come from?

What capitalists are most adept at doing is taking the opportunity to raise prices, but in the end it is ordinary people who pay the bill.

Zheng Yuhua thought for a moment and said, "Okay, then I can buy some very old boats and use them to transport water. When the drought is over, I will do business in Southeast Asia instead of going to places too far away like Europe and America."

"Okay." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "As long as there are no safety issues, it's fine. A scrap ship will do. Pick a good one and use it for a few years before sending it to be dismantled for scrap metal."

A scrapped ship is not a ship that is completely unusable, but rather a ship that is no longer economically viable, or in some countries, a ship that can no longer be used because it has reached the age limit prescribed by law.

In the early years, dismantling old ships and recycling shipbuilding steel was also one of Hong Kong's main industries. These ships were all normally shipped from European and American countries for scrapping.

Some Chinese shipping tycoons in Hong Kong also bought some of these scrapped ships at low prices in the early days that looked good, and then started offshore business to make money, especially in the early 50s.

"I understand, Mr. Yang." Zheng Yuhua also understood what the boss meant, and reminded him, "It's just that Mr. Yang, there is no way to get a bank loan for such an old ship. Although it is cheap, we have to pay for it ourselves."

"Hmm." Yang Wendong asked again: "What's the price of a very old or even abandoned ship like this?"

Zheng Yuhua said: "A million Hong Kong dollars for a better quality ship, just like the one we bought from the United States before. At that time, the United States also wanted to dismantle it and sell it for scrap metal, but there were not many such ships.

The worse ones may cost hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong dollars. Many European and American companies will even sell their old ships for free or at a loss when the market is bad. "

"Okay, then pay for it yourself." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "I will mobilize funds from other places."

At this price, buying a few dozen small ships would only cost tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars. Even if you only engage in water transport business in the future, you can share the operating costs and fuel costs.

Especially if my company has priority, I can also avoid industrial losses caused by water shortage. If I do nothing and let it go, then the losses of my several industries in Hong Kong may exceed tens of millions.

Zheng Yuhua reminded him, "Mr. Yang, although scrapped ships are cheap, you can't buy them in the short term just because you want to. It depends on how many such ships there are in the market.

If we need more, we will probably have to buy a cargo ship like the Shunan, which will be much more expensive.”

"It doesn't matter. A second-hand cargo ship with better quality can last longer." Yang Wendong naturally didn't care.

As long as it was a ship that could be operated, it would not be possible to make a loss by 67. Even before that, he would purchase a large number of new and old ships, otherwise he would be wasting his advantage as a prophet.

"Okay." Zheng Yuhua asked again: "Now we have two big projects. I wonder if we need to slow down the purchase of new ships from Japan."

"No need." Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "As long as the expected return is high enough, it is worthwhile to operate with debt.

You can handle all three projects independently. Except for buying old boats for water transportation, I will use loans for the other two projects.”

In the shipping industry, whether it is buying a ship, building a ship or even chartering a ship to an end customer, a large amount of bank funds needs to be borrowed.

Its borrowing rate is also far higher than that of the real estate industry.

In the 60s, global shipping was in a state of rapid development, and the Chinese shipping tycoons in Hong Kong basically developed during this decade.

"Okay." Zheng Yuhua said, "There is one more thing. If we buy ships in large quantities, we will need to recruit people on a large scale, especially for old ships, which require professional technical engineers."

"No problem, just recruit them." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "A large number of crew members is also the foundation for our future development."

Even if there was no drought, he would need to recruit people on a large scale to prepare for subsequent shipping expansion.

……

Day 2, The Peninsula Hotel:

Yang Wendong came to the first construction suite. At this moment, a young woman in a white nightgown was preparing a simple lunch.

"Yushan?" Yang Wendong said with a smile after coming in.

"Brother Dong!" Bai Yushan turned around and said, "I asked the hotel to prepare your favorite food."

"These are not my favorite foods." Yang Wendong laughed and picked him up: "Let's get down to business first!"

"It's daytime~" Bai Yushan said as she responded.

The delicious food next to it was left to cool down gradually.
……

An hour later, Yang Wendong looked at the food with some difficulty.

"It's not cold, let's just eat it like this." Bai Yushan didn't care too much: "It would be too troublesome to ask someone to take it down and heat up the food."

"Okay." Yang Wendong was too lazy to struggle any more. He was tired and hungry after all the physical labor.

It is indeed inconvenient without a microwave.

In fact, he has already thought of some creative ideas for electronic products, and after the Kwun Tong Industrial Park is completed, he will also be ready to enter the electronics industry.

……

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(End of this chapter)