In the evening, when Chicurel from the Namibian Ministry of Investment visited again, Chen Chen informed the other party of the location of the site.
Although Chicurel was a little troubled after hearing this, he still smiled and said that he would report Chen Chen's proposal to Congress.
As for whether the Ministry of Investment and the Ministry of Environmental Protection would have a disagreement because of this, or even decide the outcome by fighting each other in Congress, that had nothing to do with Chen Chen.
In the next few days, Chen Chen declined the Namibian officials' company and only took Qian Wenhuan and a few others to visit the tourist attractions in Namibia one by one.
Even in the entire African Continent, Namibia was considered the most developed country in tourism. Tourist attractions and wildlife reserves could be seen everywhere —
Spitzkop Mountain, known as the Holy Mountain, had a world-famous rock arch bridge, which was exceptionally magnificent under the night sky;
In the vast desert, there was a quiver tree unique to Africa. Its branches rose into the sky like palms demanding from the sky;
There was also the heroic scene of the yellow sand flowing into the Immensity Sea. On one side was the boundless desert, and on the other side was the vast and misty ocean. The originally unrelated two perfectly fused together in the Immensity Sea, like a symphony of sand and ocean …
The sparse population represented a large number of undeveloped natural landscapes. Coupled with the year-round spring-like temperature and a political situation that was more stable than its neighbors, this place had become the most popular country for tourism in Africa.
Of course, Chen Chen did not just go sightseeing. He also visited the two uranium mines controlled by Mainland China, Hushan and Rössing.
Both uranium mines were located in the Namib desert area in western Namibia. The Hushan Uranium Mine was sixty kilometers from the coastal city of Swakopmund while the Rössing Uranium Mine was located ten kilometers south of the city of Arandis.
Among the two uranium mines, the Hushan Uranium Mine ranked third in the world in uranium resource reserves, with a total of 286,000 tons of resources. It could produce 6,500 tons of triuranium octaoxide every year, ranking second in the world in annual production.
The Rössing Uranium Mine produced 2,500 tons per year, ranking fifth in the world in annual production.
After the visit, Chen Chen's heart felt heavy on the way back.
After preliminary contact and negotiations, the offers of China General Nuclear Power Corporation and China National Nuclear Corporation were similar. If Chen Chen wanted to build a nuclear power plant with a power generation capacity of 1 million kilowatts in the south of Walvis Bay, it would roughly cost 14 billion.
If converted to US dollars, it would be 2 billion US dollars.
The reason why it was so much higher than the market price was actually because of the transportation of materials.
The building materials needed for a nuclear power plant could not be found in the African industry. They had to be transported by sea from Mainland China. Traveling a distance of 15000 kilometers and back several times would naturally increase the cost.
Of course, this was the price of the third-generation nuclear power plant CAP1400, which was the improved version of the AP1000 technology imported from North America by Mainland China.
Generally speaking, the reactors in a nuclear power plant were divided into "light water reactors" and "heavy water reactors". The "heavy water reactor" was rarely used in Mainland China and had always been the "light water reactor".
The "light water reactor" was further divided into "pressurized water reactor" and "boiling water reactor".
The CAP1400 was a "passive pressurized water reactor". First, the nuclear fuel fission produced a large amount of heat energy, then water under high pressure was used to bring the heat energy out, and a generator was used to generate steam to drive the turbine to rotate. Electricity was continuously generated.
Unlike the second-generation reactor, the third-generation CAP1400 technology's biggest feature was that its design was concise and easy to operate. It was simpler and more effective than traditional nuclear reactors, further improving the safety of nuclear power plants.
As for the other "boiling water reactor" nuclear reactor, one could understand it by looking at the fate of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in the East China Sea Continent.
In addition to higher safety, another reason Chen Chen chose CAP1400 was that the third-generation nuclear power plant could use modular technology during the construction process, which could greatly reduce the construction period of the nuclear power unit. It could be officially operated in 18 months at the fastest.
However, after understanding the working principle of these nuclear power plants, Chen Chen could not help but sigh. No wonder people on the Internet always complained that "the essence of human technology is to boil water and study how to boil water more efficiently."
The only thing that dissatisfied Chen Chen was the power of the reactor.
A nuclear power plant of 1 million kilowatts sounded daunting, but it was only 10 MVA. Based on the average need of 8 kilowatts of electricity per household, three people per household, and half the demand coefficient, it could probably supply the daily electricity of 750,000 people.
Moreover, Chen Chen was not generating electricity for love. His real purpose of building a nuclear power plant was to charge the USB drive. Therefore, even after the nuclear power plant was built, Chen Chen would certainly have to skimp on some of the costs, even skimping on more than half would be normal.
Therefore, a nuclear reactor of 1 million kilowatts was not enough. Chen Chen hoped to expand it to 2 million!
It seemed that the loan and the release of the new product could not be delayed.
With this in mind, Chen Chen, who was sitting in the four-wheel-drive off-road vehicle, subconsciously looked out the window.
The wind on the open plains swept across Chen Chen's face, bringing with it a hint of coolness. At this time, the sun had set, leaving only the afterimage of the afterglow reflecting off half of the sky.
The sky gradually darkened and the occasional village on both sides of the road also lit up with the light of fire.
"Electricity", a product that had long become a part of human daily life in the 21st century, was still a luxury in this barbaric and backward country...
Who would have thought that Namibia, which was full of uranium mines and incomparably rich in rare earth resources, relied on imports for 70% of its electricity?
The annual GDP of Namibia was less than 14 billion US dollars. The income of 20% of the rich white people accounted for 80% of the country's total income. 60% of the banks were controlled by foreign investors and the ordinary people generally lived below the poverty line.
The investment and technology needed to develop a nuclear power plant was something that the Namibian government did not have at all.
Due to the country's backward economy, lack of funds, and lack of the relevant technology for the development of nuclear energy, the entire country was severely short of electricity. They could only guard the treasure trove of uranium mines, but there was nothing they could do.
Due to the perennial shortage of electricity, the Namibian government was even forced to introduce a policy called "Adjusting the Single Buyer Model", which encouraged eligible independent power manufacturers to sell electricity directly to their own people, instead of letting the Namibian power company control it as it was now.
From this, it could be seen how miserable the government was.
Even so, this was already a very wise and powerful government in the African Continent. There was not even a rebel army in the country, unlike other countries that were constantly at war and warlords fighting each other. Peace and stability were an extravagant hope, forget about development.
However, it was also because of this that Chen Chen's intention to build a nuclear power plant immediately caused a stir in the entire Congress.
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