The British historian Arnold Toynbee was once asked, "If you were to be reborn as a human being, which country would you be born in?"

Toynbee thought for a moment and replied, "I would like to be born in China." From the perspective of a historian, he gave a prudent reason: "China will play a very important role in the future of all mankind in the future." ”

Before, Salman had not had much of a sense of this sentence, but now, he understood it a little.

China's efforts to clean up and develop the Alashan Desert have received a huge international response, but if it does achieve its goals, it means that there will be fewer and fewer deserts in China.

At this moment, perhaps not only the Alashan Desert area, but also the desert that he does not know, is being "quietly" wiped out. From the country with the most deserts in the world to the country with the fewest deserts, China is slowly making progress and creating miracles every day.

Only the hypocritical developed countries of Europe and the United States will argue endlessly over whether the development of deserts is good or bad.

Salman, who is also a latecomer country, understands that "those who lag behind should do their best to expand the living space of the nation".

Many people have the impression that only Israel in the Middle East has done a good job in agriculture, but they don't know that Saudi Arabia is also a "ruthless character" in the development of desert agriculture.

Without the important foundation of agriculture, the superstructure cannot be built.

For thousands of years, because of the lack of agricultural foundation, the Arabian Peninsula has never been able to establish a modern state, and the melon-eating masses on the peninsula continue to eat dates and drink camel milk in the face of the great changes in the outside world, and water and pastures are still scarce - until Saudi Arabia is hit by the gift package of "oil".

Saudi Arabia, which has the highest oil production in the world, has money, and it is not ordinary money. Saudi Arabia, which has "entrenched", is not only immersed in buying and buying, but also looks to oases and valleys, hoping to solve the problem of agricultural water resources through desalination, pumping groundwater from oases and harvesting rainwater.

They succeeded, but they also failed.

With a central irrigation system, Saudi Arabia draws groundwater for irrigation, creating a spectacular "crop circle" in the desert. Saudi Arabia also once achieved the goal of food self-sufficiency, and even entered the ranks of major wheat exporters.

But nature has taught the Saudis a truth - if you can't hang up, even if you are "inhumane", you can't go against the sky.

Most of the country is desert and desert plateau, and most of the country's groundwater is non-renewable without a single river or lake. The frenzied pumping of groundwater, which has caused seawater intrusion and land subsidence, has also made the Saudis understand that their model of desert agriculture, which is essentially based on the oil industry, is ultimately unsustainable.

Today, less than one-fifth of Saudi Arabia's domestic food is produced, and the rest is imported. A myth of "turning deserts into fertile land" in the Middle East has since died.

However, the temptation of agriculture for a country is too great, but any country that has the slightest possibility of developing agriculture will not give up this strategic field to other countries, and Saudi Arabia is no exception.

When China's Alashan Desert Development Project caused a huge controversy, the Saudi side was keenly aware that without two brushes, how could the Chinese dare to make a big move? Perhaps the Chinese have mastered a new model of desert development?

So Salman came, with the hope of finding the secret to tame the "sand devils" in China.

Even if this model may not quite fit the perception of the Saudis.

......

"Build a golden house in the sand, let the sand regenerate a thousand bells, and hope that there will be many cars and horses in the sand!"

A huge banner fluttered on the construction base of Jiagu Wind Farm, fully allowing people to realize the goal of the construction team.

"Qi Dong, this is the site of the third phase of Jiagu Wind Farm. The number of wind turbines planned to be installed is 98, and the installed capacity will reach 200MW, with an annual power generation capacity of about 600 million kWh. When completed, it will be one of the largest wind farms in the country. Accompanying Qi Zheng and Salman on the visit was Chief Engineer Dai of Guodian Group, which undertook the construction of the Jiagu Wind Farm.

The so-called to get rich first build roads. In fact, it is not only necessary to build roads first, in this era, anything can be tolerated, but the lack of electricity is absolutely unbearable.

Therefore, the two main points of the desert development project are road construction and electricity.

From Qi Zheng's point of view, of course, he hopes that the wind farm will be "built in one day", but on the other hand, he reminded Chief Engineer Dai: "The recent high temperature and heavy rain in the desert can ensure the smooth progress of the project construction?"

Infrastructure in the desert is not easy. The soft sandy soil and the hot and dry weather were extremely unfriendly to the construction team. Wind farms are particularly unfavorable.

Since it is a wind farm, it must be chosen in a place where strong winds are rampant. Just like now, the wind is howling, and if you stand on a high place, you can't open your eyes. The construction workers had to put on veils, face shields and windproof goggles, and after a short time of work, they had to shake off the sand and dirt all over their bodies.

With such a construction environment, the difficulty can be imagined.

But Chief Engineer Dai said confidently: "Qi Dong rest assured, our group has rich experience in construction, what situation has not been experienced? ”

"Well done. Qi Zheng can only bow down.

After the desert development project officially became a national project, the construction units have been upgraded to a higher level. Heavyweight state-owned enterprises like Guodian can undertake projects in war-torn Africa and other overseas regions, and a desert wind farm in China is difficult for them.

Party A's praise made Chief Engineer Dai squint with a smile, and the voice of introducing the construction situation was a little louder: "From the beginning of the foundation concrete pouring, we have adopted a lot of technological innovations to ensure the stability of the operation of the windmill......"

"And all windmills are domestic products......"

In fact, the marginal effect of infrastructure is very important.

In particular, large infrastructure projects are directly driven, not only by the construction industry and the building materials industry? Take the Jiagu wind farm project as an example, because all domestic wind turbines are used, and the technical requirements are high, which directly drives the upgrading of domestic wind turbines.

In terms of how much demand for steel, cement, and even equipment manufacturing can be driven by the development of infrastructure in the Alashan desert region?

Do you really think that our country is called "infrastructure madness", just for the infrastructure project itself?

But it is clear that the scale of such infrastructure has exceeded the imagination of Salman, who is in the same industry.

After listening to the interpreter's relay...... the conversation between the two, Salman couldn't help but ask: "Aren't you afraid that you won't be able to recover the cost?" I mean, after all, this is a desert, nature is impermanent, if the development does not meet expectations, such infrastructure is not a complete waste?"

Hearing this, Chief Engineer Dai on the side also pricked up his ears.

He also wanted to know where Qi Zheng got his confidence.

After all, those who do infrastructure projects are most afraid of the project being unfinished.

If an infrastructure project fails, all builders and investors will become losers!

For example, Guodian Group has dispatched the best management personnel, the best engineering personnel, the most effective team, and the main engineering equipment of the group to ensure the completion of the Jiagu Wind Farm on schedule.

But if it becomes an unfinished project, not to mention the loss of financial resources, the excellent personnel and equipment that have been transferred will waste time in this desolate land. Wind farms may eventually be put to use, but it's hard to say when.

Considers......

"I don't have the confidence. Qi Zheng simply spread his hands and said.

Chief Engineer Dai almost flashed his waist.

No confidence? No confidence, no confidence, Jia Gu dares to make such a big deal? Who believes it?

You see, even the big man in Saudi Arabia has a face of "you are not sincere".

......