If the Panama Canal gets a rival
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If the Panama Canal gets a rival
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Re: If the Panama Canal gets a rival
#2Like China's "One Belt, One Road"?
Re: If the Panama Canal gets a rival
#3Disclaimer, I'm part Panamanian, that being said, I find this highly suspicious. A lot of my Nicaraguan friends are also highly doubtful this will ever take off. The big problems for Nicaragua with this are:
- Horrible ecological impact (fisheries in Caribbean are already [1]
- Many think this is an excuse for the politicians to get cushy land/resort deals along the proposed route and near the entrances to the canal [2]
- Some think it is really never going to materialize, but Chinese owned resorts will pop up on each end.
- Nicaragua doesn't have the infrastructure to undertake such a big engineering project (human talent, electrical, etc)
- The public hasn't had any say in this so far [2]
1. http://e360.yale.edu/feature/nicaragua_canal_a_giant_project...
2. http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/Latin-America-Monito...
Re: If the Panama Canal gets a rival
#4Back on the envelope calculations suggest that is not profitable investment. Even with optimistic assumptions:
http://noelmaurer.typepad.com/aab/2015/01/the-nicaragua-cana...
Re: If the Panama Canal gets a rival
#5Looking at the proposed map of the canal how does this work when Lake Nicaragua [1] is freshwater? Even with locks I'm guessing salt water from the sea will slowly contaminate (seep) into the lake causing big changes for the ecosystem and local population.
Re: If the Panama Canal gets a rival
#6Looking at the proposed map of the canal how does this work when Lake Nicaragua [1] is freshwater? Even with locks I'm guessing salt water from the sea will slowly contaminate (seep) into the lake causing big changes for the ecosystem and local population. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Nicaragua
Not hugely likely, the lake is higher than the sea so the salt won't migrate up. The water level in the lake will likely be affected though.
The danger is ballast water held by ships, but like Panama they'll likely forbid all water discharge while in the canal.
Re: If the Panama Canal gets a rival
#7Disclaimer, I'm part Panamanian, that being said, I find this highly suspicious. A lot of my Nicaraguan friends are also highly doubtful this will ever take off. The big problems for Nicaragua with this are: - Horrible ecological impact (fisheries in Caribbean are already [1] - Many think this is an excuse for the politicians to get cushy land/resort deals along the proposed route and near the entrances to the canal…
My wife is Panamanian and having just recently traveled there I got the same impression. I was asking everyone about it and they held the same opinions to yourself.
It's also worth noting that the reason the canal was put in Panama over Nicaragua was due to earthquake activity which Panama did not have.
Re: If the Panama Canal gets a rival
#8Related NYTimes article from earlier this year [1]
[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/26/travel/26nicaragua-cover.h...
Re: If the Panama Canal gets a rival
#9I'll admit to being skeptical, too, but I seem to recall reading that people thought that the US was not going to be able to finish the original canal and that the whole project was foolhardy. I think the US was just more tenacious than France before it (also people had learned about the role of mosquitoes in disease and sprayed the mosquitoes)
China has a very long history of massive building projects, so if Nicaragua is willing, and the similar sentiment as the first canal makes me hesitant to dismiss it.
Re: If the Panama Canal gets a rival
#10Does anybody here have experience as an expat living in Panama? I've heard good things about the quality of life and tax benefits (for immigrants/expats), plus a reasonable cost of living. I wonder if they're accurate, and what impact this rival canal might have on those conditions in the unlikely event it proceeds.