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

  • Cautious welcome for US transportation bill extension
    July 31, 2015
    The US Senate's approval of the three-month MAP-21 extension and the ongoing work in the US Senate to pass a long-term surface transportation authorisation bill has received a cautious welcome from many US transportation authorities. Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) president and CEO Regina Hopper commented: “While the country is in desperate need of a long-term transportation initiative, we remain hopeful that the three-month extension will provide time for the House and Senat
    Read More
  • Rapid progress with pure electric buses
    July 29, 2015
    China is where most of the hybrid and pure electric buses will be made and sold over the coming decade, as discussed in the report by IDTechEx Research, Electric Buses 2015-2025. Given the concentration of government support on long pure electric range from hybrids and the far simpler pure electric buses, the latter are proving very popular. Indeed articulated and double decker buses are available in pure electric form in China. According to the latest statistics from the Chinese bus industry, the total
    Read More
  • Uber takes on European critics
    July 13, 2015
    Uber's director of public policy for Europe, Simon Hampton, has suggested that he sees a chance at winning over governments pursuing legal action against the company. “If you're in a city Uber hasn't come to yet, then creating a group of people to say they want Uber and to put pressure on local politicians - that's hard," Hampton said at a panel discussion in the European Parliament, reports euractiv.com. Uber has faced legal inquiries in the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Italy and Portugal ov
    Read More
  • Government of Canada expands EV charging stations in New Brunswick
    January 16, 2018
    To provide Canadians with more options to drive clean, the country’s government has announced a $450,000 (£262,000) investment in NB Power’s eCharge Network, adding nine new electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to the current ten, in New Brunswick. The transaction has been announced by Serge Cormier, member of parliament for Tracadie–Bathurst on behalf of the honourable Jim Carr, minister of natural resources. Cormier also confirmed that an additional $197,500 (£115,000) from the federal gas tax fund
    Read More

Highlighted Content