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The Nicaragua Canal

154K views 325 replies 68 participants last post by  jam5 
#1 ·
Nicaragua plans its own Panama Canal

NICARAGUA’S Canal dreams

NICARAGUA will reveal a $20bn (£11.2bn, E16bn) plan this week to build a canal linking the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans, which would compete with the near 100-year-old Panama Canal.

Full story here.
 
#2 ·
That'd be awesome !!!! Like the article says: "it would bring unprecendented economic boom to the area"
How long is the stretch of land from the pacific to the atlantic on the Nicaraguan side ?? And how High would the ships have to be raised in order to do the crossing ???
 
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#4 · (Edited)
That'd be awesome !!!! Like the article says: "it would bring unprecendented economic boom to the area"
Yes, it's awesome!

How long is the stretch of land from the pacific to the atlantic on the Nicaraguan side ??
The Rivas Isthmus, between the Pacific Ocean and Lake Nicaragua is only 13 miles wide. The Isthmus between the lake and the Caribbean is between 60 to 90 miles wide. There are navigable rivers, however, including the San Juan river which runs from the lake to the Atlantic ocean and the Escondido river which is navigable 40 miles inland. We will know the details soon.

And how High would the ships have to be raised in order to do the crossing ???
The ships would have to be raised only a few meters since Lake Nicaragua, which is part of the route, is only 31 meters above sea level. It will depend on what river route is planned though, so we will see.
 
#6 ·
I know this plan has been around since the beginning of the Panama Canal, but I just worry about the environmental impact on Lake Nicaragua and eastern Nicaragua. If it can be done as sustainably as possible then it would be good a project. Maybe set aside land for habitat protection before they build anything. It looks if it is built then that town Bluefields on the Caribbean would get a lot growth.
 
#9 ·
...I just worry about the environmental impact on Lake Nicaragua and eastern Nicaragua. If it can be done as sustainably as possible then it would be good a project. Maybe set aside land for habitat protection before they build anything. It looks if it is built then that town Bluefields on the Caribbean would get a lot growth.
I was initially very concerned with the environmental impact as well. However, I am not as concerned after reading that 25% of the territory is to be reforested in order to help generate water needed to run the canal. The Escondido & Oyate river route, if used, is through deforested grazing lands so the reforestation would be a boon.

I don't know about the impact on the lake though, but hopefully the canal can be built and run as sustainably as possible like you have mentioned. It should be noted that the head of the Canal planning committee is the Minister of the Environment and Natural Resources so hopefully that is a positive sign.
 
#11 ·
Uhh, I would love to see Nicaragua's economy boom but...Lake Nicaragua is already heavily polluted, "crape lake" as my mom calls it!
I think your mom meant Lake Managua. That lake is really polluted because the raw sewage form Managua City goes there. They are trying to clean it up though.

Lake Nicaragua is much less polluted. It's major pollutant is Granada and nearby towns. I think that if they build the canal they should allot some moneys to build sewage treatment plants and help keep the lake pollution-free. The economic boom is a must though because the country is really poor and with money the government can invest on education, protection of the environment, etc.

And, I wanted to ask, are they going to use the San Juan River? Because that's a natural beauty and a very popular tourist attraction.
I don't think they are. I've been following the news regarding this canal for some time and I read somewhere that the San Juan river route is the most difficult due to possible conflicts with the southern neighbor and also becuase the river carries too much silt which would mean more dredging.
 
#12 ·
Tomorrow, October 2nd the authorities should provide the full details.
 
#14 ·
Trade waterway: $20bn and 10 years to build - a giant rival for Panama canal
Nicaragua plans vast channel for largest ships Opponents cite green issues and lack of demand
John Vidal Environment editor
4 October 2006
The Guardian

Nicaragua, one of the poorest countries in Latin America, plans to construct a $20bn rival to the Panama canal to enable the largest tankers and container ships in the world to pass between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

The mega-engineering project is expected to take more than 10 years to build but could redraw the map of world trade by opening the east coast of North America, Europe and Brazil to large-scale sea traffic from burgeoning Pacific rim countries including China, and South Korea.

The new route would cut 500 miles - or at least a day - off the route between California and New York, and could considerably shorten and cheapen the journey from China to Europe for large ships.

Yesterday's formal announcement of what is known as the Grand Inter-Oceanic Nicaragua Canal was greeted with trepidation by nearby Panama, which is also planning to widen its canal. It fears that its main source of income will be seriously affected if Nicaragua builds a rival.

If built, the Nicaraguan canal would allow 250,000-tonne tankers and container ships to pass through the isthmus that divides the two oceans, compared with the Panama canal's 79,000-tonne boats. Even if an expected $5bn (pounds 2.6bn) upgrade of the Panama canal goes ahead, it is expected to only accommodate 120,000-tonne boats.

However, analysts and politicians are divided over whether there is enough traffic for two major canals in the region, despite a great increase in world trade over the last decade.

The Nicaraguan president, Enrique Bolanos, said at the weekend that there is room for two major canals. "There's a lot of business to share. We know that for every 100 ships that come to the Americas, only seven use the Panama canal. If a Nicaraguan canal were built, it would bring an economic effervescence never seen before in central America," he said.

But a spokesman for the Panama Canal Authority, the semi-independent body that runs the Panama canal, said there was insufficient ship traffic to support both a widened Panama canal and a canal through Nicaragua. "If the widening goes forward, [the Nicaraguan project] is not feasible," he said. "Our analysis shows that if our project is approved, there would not be enough demand to pay for the two, and they would have to have a cost structure much higher than ours."

The project, which has been backed vigorously by Mr Bolanos, has been under active consideration for at least a decade, but has been held up by financial negotiations. Nicaragua, whose GDP is only 5% of the expected cost of the venture, is expected to have to link up with major global companies, including Chinese and Japanese banks which stand to gain the most by exporting more easily to the west.
 
#18 ·
Invasive species from the underside of transoceanic ships is another environmental impact that Nicaragua would have to be aware of before they start building. Lake Nicaragua, its biodiversity, would definitely be under threat from more aggressive non-native species if a canal is constructed. Here's two articles, one on Panama and one on the Great Lakes.

Panama Canal and invasive species
http://morayeel.louisiana.edu/SeaweedsLab/Wysor/Fulbright'97.html

Great Lakes and fighting invasive species
http://detnews.com/2005/project/0508/14/Z10-275421.htm
 
#19 ·
Website

For full details of the Nicaragua Canal go to the webiste (in Spanish):
www.grancanal.gob.ni

Maps of the route


 
#23 ·
The bill to build the Nicaragua Canal in spanish: HERE

The Nicaraguan congress needs to approve the bill before an international bid (currently being planned) is conducted.
 
#25 ·
Length: 1,539 feet (466 meters)
Width: 210 feet (64 meters)
Depth: 112 feet (34 meters)

Able to hold ships of 250,000 dwt
 
#31 · (Edited)
Yes, we are aware of this and they passed the referendum. However, Nicaragua will continue with it's plans to build the canal because the demand for another canal is there. The Panama Canal expansion will help alleviate the problem of congestion but in 10 years there other routes will be needed and that is where the Nicaragua Canal comes in. The media has made it a canal vs canal issue but it's really not, especially now that the Panama referendum was passed (the media even got the wrong Nicaragua Canal route). In summary the Nicaragua Canal will not jeopardize their route because both will be needed are are probably needed now. Many ships are on the wait list months ahead of time to be able to pass through the Panama Canal.
 
#32 ·
Nicaragua's Elusive "Grand Canal" Dream in Sight

MANAGUA, Nicaragua - Five centuries after Spain's King Carlos V first thought of cutting a canal through Nicaragua to link the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, the tiny nation has a date in sight for a "Grand Canal" to dwarf Panama's.

INTERVIEW - Nicaragua's Elusive "Grand Canal" Dream in Sight
 
#33 ·
Update: There is a new presidente, Daniel Ortega. So we haven't heard anything official from him but from past newspapers articles I've read he is very intersted in building a canal and used it to campaign. So we will see!
 
#34 · (Edited)
Update!

Samuel Santos, the new foreign minister for Nicaragua under the presidency of Daniel Ortega has met with the foreign commission representative of Korea, Kim Wom Hung, and the foreign vice minister of Japan, Midori Matsuhsima. The Japanese and Korean delegates expressed interest in the Nicaragua Canal project.

The local newspapers believe that the Nicaragua Canal project will be an important goal of the Ortega administration given the fact that Samuel Santos was apointed as foreign minister. Santos has been part of the Nicaragua Canal commission that studied the canal proposal and found it to be feasible and is one of it's most outspoken supporters.

According to the newspaper la prensa, the Nicaragua canal has been of interest to countries like China since 1989.

Hopefully there will be more news soon.
 
#35 ·
I doubt the canal could be built without locks. The level of the Pacific Ocean is higher than the Carribean Sea. To accomodate 250,000 ton tankers the depth would need to be about 65 feet or 20 meters. If it is to use locks it would be using much more water from the lake to fill the locks than the current Panama Canal. It may even deplete the lake.
 
#36 · (Edited)
I doubt the canal could be built without locks. The level of the Pacific Ocean is higher than the Carribean Sea. To accomodate 250,000 ton tankers the depth would need to be about 65 feet or 20 meters.
Yes, it will have locks, it shows them on the following diagram. Esclusa is spanish for lock. They will be up to 35 meters deep so that should not be a problem.

 
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