Chapter 1364: The Second Space Elevator
Jiang Chen was right; they really wouldn’t reject his proposal.
When Xia Shiyu called the Ecuadorian Embassy, she got a reply from the Ecuadorian government on the same day.
The Ecuadorian government agreed to the proposal of Future Group to lease Marchena Island in the Galapagos Islands to Celestial Trade for a period of 50 years at a price of one million Xin New dollars. If the lease was not ended by either party after fifty years, it would be automatically renewed every ten years.
Marchena Island was located in the northern Galapagos Islands, close to the equator. The island covered an area of 130 square kilometers and was minimally developed. The island was uninhibited with only an inactive volcano. The surrounding water was deep, which made it an excellent natural port.
Based on the agreement, Celestial Trade could use this island for military purposes, but the number of troops stationed on the island could not exceed 1,000, and deployment of any strategic weapons such as ballistic missiles on the island in any form was prohibited.
Ecuador’s generous offer was returned by Future Group’s lucrative deal. Not only was the second space elevator project named “Project Marchena”, but the port at the bottom of the space elevator was also named “Marchena”. Future Group even promised to provide a little help to Ecuador in the nomination for membership into the Earth Defense Alliance next year, despite its poor GDP data.
In addition, the agreement reached between Celestial Trade and Ecuador also stated that although this space elevator and spaceport were built in Ecuador, they would not be bound by the Ecuadorian Constitution, but as a special autonomous region under the jurisdiction of the Celestial Trade Space Department.
Even so, this unregulated space elevator still brought huge economic benefits to the small South American country Ecuador.
An examination of the current Celestial City would reveal the facts. Although it did not contribute a dime to Xin’s finances, the entire space elevator became the entrance to the synchronous orbit in the eastern hemisphere. The number of ships that moved between the major ports of Xin every day accounted for almost 60% of the cargo ships active in South Asia.
If it wasn’t for the limited capacity of the space elevator, as well as the distant threats in sight, Jiang Chen would never consider rushing to build a second space elevator with a monopolistic position.
Jiang Chen gave a clear position to this space elevator. Port Marchena’s purpose was a space port and space industrial base. The design would not consider any living and entertainment space for residents, unlike Celestial City.
Only one space city was necessary, and only one Celestial City was necessary…
…
At night, the lights in the office were on.
Jiang Chen sat at the table as he video-called Sun Jiao. After Lin Lin’s upgrade, the real-time transmission speed of the interdimensional communication chip in his watch was now strong enough to support a holographic phone with a large data volume.
Lines and light particles outlined Sun Jiao’s figure by the table, it was almost exactly like a real person. Although Jiang Chen could travel to the apocalypse to meet with Sun Jiao at any time, in order to test the performance of the interdimensional communication chip upgraded by Lin Lin, the two of them chose the holographic call.
“How are you over there?” Jiang Chen looked at the holographic image that looked too real as he gently fiddled with the strands of hair sticking to her cheeks. A layer of digital ripples appeared on the holographic image, and his finger passed through the fluttering hair and stopped beside the beautiful face.
“Everything is good, good to the point where it is a bit boring… When will you come back?” Sun Jiao said softly as she put her hands around the virtual hands and stared at him with her pristine eyes, “Yao Yao and Lin Lin, and Xiaorou, they all miss you very much.”
Jiang Chen chuckled and said in a joking tone, “Actually, you miss me, right?”
Is it not okay?
Sun Jiao’s beautiful eyebrows raised and she did not speak. However, her eyes full of vitality had already expressed all the words she wanted to say vividly.
Jiang Chen fixated his gaze on those charming eyes and smiled. After he thought for a moment, he replied softly.
“At the end of the month at the latest. I still have one thing to deal with. Once I finish that, I will probably be back for a while.
After he resolved Colombia’s war, Celestial Trade had opened up in South America. As the Yoto Olympics came to an end, the issue of UA troops stationed in Nippon was smoothly solved. The only two things left in his hands were the first Xin International Defense Exhibition in the middle of this month, and the finale of this year’s UA election.
There was not much more to do for the UA election as he had done everything he could. Before that day finished, he could only wait.
As for the upcoming international defense exhibition, as the president of Future Group, he naturally had to make an appearance. After all, Future Military was center stage for this defense exhibition. The entire world would be watching this long-established arms giant, and see what kind of eye-catching war machine it would put on display.
After the end of the international defense exhibition, he would have nothing to do for at least two months. He would not able to formulate strategies against the UA for the next four years before the election in mid-December.
“Then I’ll wait for you to come back.” Sun Jiao smiled, her eyes showed a provocative look, “Last time you and Xiaorou worked together, I still remember that.”
“Haha, now that you told me, what if I’m afraid to go back?” Jiang Chen laughed.
“Then I’ll go and find you! Lin Lin’s research has almost succeeded.” Sun Jiao raised her hands and curled her fingers fiercely. “I can’t promise you what strange things will happen then…”
“Really?!” Jiang Chen took a second to process this before he stood up in happiness. With both of his hands pressed against the table, he stared at Sun Jiao, “I mean, Lin Lin’s research finally succeeded?”
“Uh, don’t get too excited, it’s still coming along. It seems that the technology of collecting and storing antimatter has made a breakthrough. By the way, don’t tell her I told her…” Sun Jiao looked back behind her and then said quickly, “She doesn’t let me tell you, saying that she is going to give you a surprise.”
“So it’s soon again,” Jiang Chen rolled his eyes and sighed as he sat back on the chair, “I’ve been hearing this since last year, can’t you give me a more specific date?”
“If there are new developments, I will tell you.” Sun Jiao’s eyes flashed as she saw Jiang Chen’s disappointment, then she smiled, “Don’t forget, you promised me. By the way, don’t tell me you forgot already?”
“How is that possible?” Jiang Chen laughed, glanced at the clock on the wall, and said, “It’s getting late, go to bed early.”
“Good night!”