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

  • Countering congestion’s cost
    May 6, 2015
    A new report on the economic costs of traffic congestion predicts the problem will worsen significantly in future. Jon Masters reviews the figures and some suggested solutions. New figures on the rising economic and environmental costs of congestion have been published by the US traffic data specialist Inrix and the UK’s Centre for Economics & Business Research (Cebr). Their report finds the problem much bigger than previously thought.
    Read More
  • Data helps Ohio DoT get grant money
    January 25, 2022
    Ohio Department of Transportation turned to StreetLight Data when it needed to finalise grant money for a key infrastructure link. David Crawford sees how metrics brought in the cash…
    Read More
  • Environmental impact assessments - where now?
    February 1, 2012
    Peter George, MVA Consultancy, questions the future direction of environmental impact assessments
    Read More
  • Infrastructure projects to drive the construction industry in Norway
    August 7, 2015
    According to a recent report by Timetric’s Construction Intelligence Center (CIC), Norway’s construction industry will continue to expand over the coming five years, with investment in transport infrastructure projects continuing to drive growth. Under the government’s fourth National Transport Plan (NTP) 2014–2023, a series of infrastructure projects will be launched with an investment of around US$86.5 billion. The Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications has proposed total investment in th
    Read More

Highlighted Content