Nicaragua’s alternative Panama canal plans

Plans for an inter-oceanic canal in Nicaragua have been announced by Hong Kong-based HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment and its local arm HKND. The US$40 billion project involves the construction of an alternative to the Panama Canal. The proposed 280 kilometre, which aims to compete with the Panama canal, would connect Nicaragua's Caribbean and Pacific coasts. It includes the development of a deepwater port at each end of the canal, an oil pipeline running alongside it a dry canal for the transpo
July 24, 2014 Read time: 2 mins

Plans for an inter-oceanic canal in Nicaragua have been announced by Hong Kong-based HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment and its local arm HKND.

The US$40 billion project involves the construction of an alternative to the Panama Canal. The proposed 280 kilometre, which aims to compete with the Panama canal, would connect Nicaragua's Caribbean and Pacific coasts. It includes the development of a deepwater port at each end of the canal, an oil pipeline running alongside it a dry canal for the transportation of cargo via freight rail lines, a new airport, highways, free trade zones, and a tourist complex.

Once under way, construction would take at least ten years and could generate 40,000 jobs and double the country's GDP per capita.

However, the plans have raised concerns from several environmental organisations. HKND has yet to carry out an environmental impact study and environmental reports say the route calls for the removal of 400,000 hectares of forests and wetlands, encroachment into indigenous communities and the contamination of Nicaragua's largest freshwater source, Lake Nicaragua.

Related Content

  • AfDB support for Rwanda transport sector support project
    November 25, 2014
    The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a US$74.47-million loan to finance the first phase of Rwanda’s Transport Sector Support Project, to support the country’s need to improve its transportation services. The project involves upgrading 51.54 kilometres of the Base-Rukomo road along the Base-Gicumbi-Rukomo-Nyagatare axis. The project aims to contribute to socio-economic development, to improve standards of living and regional integration through an improved and sustainable transport system tha
    Read More
  • Spot speed deterrent proved to be transient
    October 18, 2013
    As research and trials show the benefits of average speed enforcement - David Crawford reviews developments on two continents. August 2013 saw the switch on of the Australian State of Victoria’s latest combined point-to-point (P2P) average speed enforcement (ASE) and spot camera control system. Installed on the 27km Peninsula Link to the south-east of Melbourne, the system uses high-resolution automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras and optical character recognition (OCR) technology developed b
    Read More
  • Regulation time-lag will hit driverless technology hard says leading consultancy BDO
    August 8, 2018
    The legislation surrounding driverless cars is lagging so far behind the technology involved that the industry is unlikely to see a regulatory framework in place any time soon says leading international business, finance and taxation consultancy BDO. And IEEE, "the world’s largest technical professional organisation dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity" can only see problems ahead as the politicians fall further and further behind. BDO has been looking at a report from www.Spectr
    Read More
  • Dubai uses AI to revamp bus routes
    September 15, 2020
    Data from the Nol transit card will be analysed to improve planning
    Read More

Highlighted Content