Nicaragua, China forge ahead on canal to remake world trade

Nicaragua, China forge ahead on canal to remake world trade

a Chinese company had won a 50-year renewable concession to build a canal, the plan is moving quickly. Scores of Chinese engineers have mapped the topography here, and deal-makers are scouring the globe for investors from an office in faraway Hong Kong.

it might take a decade to build, gobble $60 billion and slice through vast stretches of tropical forest. At 290 kilometres, it would be more than three times the length of the US-built Panama Canal. It also would accommodate supertankers and giant container ships that are far bigger than those the Panama Canal will accept when its expansion is complete next year.

www.smh.com.au...

reply to post by haidian


Wow, the Chinese are in charge of this project? I didn't know that. This could be a real game changer. China isn't slowing down.

reply to post by haidian


Wow, the Chinese are in charge of this project? I didn't know that. This could be a real game changer. China isn't slowing down.

Whoa...that is a massive undertaking. I would be REALLY surprised if this happens. I can't imagine all the eco-systems they will be destroying just to build a new trade canal. Doesn't seem like a very smart plan to me. I wonder how long it will take them to recoup the $60 billion it will take to build. Hope they have some good defense on the bordering walls for all the pirates this will bring to the area. It will be like shooting fish in a barrel on that canal, and with it being so long, the security forces needed to cover it will be enormous and very costly.

I read that the chinese economy was now at it's slowest for 14 years. It wouldn't surprise me if this was just propaganda.

reply to post by haidian


This is definitely news to me. I had no idea that anyone was considering the construction of another canal in Central America, much less China.

Thanks for posting. F&S

From a very real personal interest I hope to God that if and when they find any and all ancient monuments/artifacts they allow a proper archeological investigation to take place.


Other than that, meh.

reply to post by haidian

This looks very dubious commercially.
OK, so it will take supertankers, but are there enough supertankers in the world to make it profitable?

On the other hand, pumping investment money into Latin America is a superb way of gaining influence in Latin America.
Watch your back, U.S.A., the Monroe Doctrine is in serious danger.

As regards recouping costs of the new canal, the present one charges $100,000 per trip through the Panama canal, but, with a price war between the two canals, if the second one gets built, might see a lot lower charges, time will tell.

DISRAELI
reply to post by haidian

 

This looks very dubious commercially.
OK, so it will take supertankers, but are there enough supertankers in the world to make it profitable?

On the other hand, pumping investment money into Latin America is a superb way of gaining influence in Latin America.
Watch your back, U.S.A., the Monroe Doctrine is in serious danger.

It all seems too good to be true. China, investing in a region known to have broadly anti american sentiments following the cold war era, and investing in such a massive project right in the USA's back door, whilst their economy stagnates and slows down. They are a rich nation but they are not rich enough to do something like this with their economy lagging.

I suppose it benefits the nationalist desires of the citizens, and further legitimises the communist dictatorship ruling the country in their minds, even if it doesn't happen.

China has already been quite busy investing in South America. You should see all the paved roads in Costa Rica that the Chinese paid for. They got a ton of visa out of the deal, so yes, China is expanding.

As for the ecology? Most of Nic is pretty darn empty, a canal won't hurt all that much.

In June 2013, Nicaragua's National Assembly approved a bill to grant a 50-year concession to the Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Company (HKND) to build the canal.[1] The concession can be extended for another 50 years once the canal is operational.[7]

China has roughly one third of world's total foreign reserves,the country has to invest the money somewhere,they can't just buy US bonds. as to the engineering feasibility,it's not hard to build.there are several much much bigger projects having been built in China in recent years.

reply to post by Mamatus


I just recently drove through both Costa Rica and Nicaragua , The local businessmen were telling us of the great investment the Chinese were making, including vehicles for the police forces and government workers. The paved roads system has been in works for the past 5 or so years. The roads are great and have increased the well being of life for the locals as roads don't get washed out as much and make for safer travel.

This project has been publicly discussed for over a year. I am torn by it; I have beach property on the Pacific Coast south of the locations they are discussing building.

Nica is the 2nd poorest country in the hemiphere ahead of only Haiti. This would really do the country good economically.

However I have to question China's true motives...

reply to post by capod2t


And what kind of disastrous impact Lake Nicaragua would face with all that shipping / construction traffic .

The company that I have worked for during the last 15 yrs. is the company that designed the third set of locks at the Panama Canal.

www.mwhglobal.com...

www.youtube.com...

Given the time I know that it has taken for us to overcome the political, financial and natural obstacles to projects like this, I have a hard time believing this canal (Nicaragua) will be completed anytime soon.

reply to post by Downturn


Nice to read your local experiences. The first thing I worried was the lake when I saw that the want to plow into it.
I did a quick search and honestly I can´t believe they are really going to do this. It´s the biggest freshwater source of the country, although it´s connected to the pacific ocean already. I´m really intrigued how they want to design the canal so that atlantic or pacific saltwater stays away from the lake. I mean if they want to send the really big ones through it, the locks must be damn huge.


Here is a picture
Map

Also, because this is ATS, the "coat of arms" has pyramid psychedelic shape

reply to post by Vasa Croe


Pirates my ass. You can't steel an enormous supertanker and think your going to sneak it out of a controlled transportation canal. And it's not the US. The Chinese will simply kill your ass if you try it.

I have the same comments that I posted elsewhere.

Sinking too much money in a sea channel in a project with great environmental impact is not very logical.

Asia and North America can be easily connected via a tunnel under Bering strait.

Asia is already connected to Africa and to Europe by land.

North America is connected to South America by land.

So it is possible to move goods from one place to other via high capacity trains.

A train can easily move 2000t load today, can can possibly move 4000t-5000t with wider tracks.

The world should be thinking in terms of a global rail transportation system possibly based on a track gauge of 2m or higher.

Such a system will save energy and environment in the long term.

Why yes people!

The world must get their made in China iphones faster !

Lets dig another ditch, and kill even more of the planet all for them awesome gadgets !

Save the planet remember people !

Oh never mind.