With Chinese Investment, Nicaraguan Passage Could Dwarf Panama Canal 322
Nicaragua is now home to the early stages of one of the largest infrastructure projects on earth, plans for which have been raising questions for some time now. In a move that will affect global trade in the long term, "A Chinese telecom billionaire has joined forces with Nicaragua's famously anti-American president to construct a waterway between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean to rival the Panama Canal. The massive engineering undertaking would literally slice through Nicaragua and be large enough to accommodate the supertankers that are the hallmark of fleets around the world today." (Here's a related article with a bit more on the project from Wang Jing, the Chinese telecoms entrepreneur now also at the head of the Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co.) One potential problem with the canal: disruption of surfing in Nicaragua.
The Fruits of The Vine (Score:2, Insightful)
Capitalism and free trade, right guys?
Suck it up!
Re:Money pit (Score:3, Insightful)
Because China has a wonderful record on industrial pollution, and Central America has a wonderful record on fiscal responsibility and accountable government.
Re:Chinese telecom billionaire (Score:5, Insightful)
That just sets you up for the obvious "so it's just like US?" finisher :D
Re:Money pit (Score:5, Insightful)
.
China has poured 47% more concrete in the last 3 years than the US has poured in the last century [wired.com]. They know how to build.
The Panama Canal was dug around 1910. In 1910, about 38% of Americans were employed in agriculture... now it is under 2%. In other words, humankind is radically better at things like "moving dirt." There is no comparison.
Re:Interesting (Score:4, Insightful)
What do you mean by "leverage"? The reason China is investing heavily in Africa and the Middle East is because there's where there are the most goodies still buried in the ground waiting for the taking.
Re:Money pit (Score:4, Insightful)
Panama didn't have the benefit of the massive machines available now. It will likely be much cheaper compartitively.
We are also much better at dealing with tropical diseases. Malaria and yellow fever were major problems during the construction of the Panama Canal.
Re:Panama Canal took 33 years, 4 countries (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah but take a look at the construction photos like this one [pancanal.com]. A modern construction crew with huge excavators [etifiresystems.com] and trucks [ytimg.com] would be in a whole different league.
Re:Geography of panama vs nicaragua (Score:2, Insightful)
So they are going to take a shortcut through one of the largest freshwater lakes in Nicaragua for Ocean traffic. This should end in even more environmental hilarity than the amount of raw sewage they already apparently dump into the lake.
Re:Money pit (Score:4, Insightful)
Plus the amount of money to be made will be less as you already have Panama canal. The average price will fall which will reduce Panama canal's profit but for them there is not much cost involved and hence the impact will be minimal. However, the lower rate can bankrupt Nicaragua canal. I wonder if they are self financing or are they able to get debt for such a risky project.
Re:Panama Canal took 33 years, 4 countries (Score:4, Insightful)
Why do we in the west sometimes look at these phenomenally poor countries and try to limit the kind of industrial development that made our countries wealthy and prosperous?
Nicaragua is a country, not a zoo. Sure they have some pretty beaches and some bro's can go surfing there, but turning it into a shipping hub for the region will do more for them financially than a few tourists.
Re:Money pit (Score:4, Insightful)
Because he was being snarky while adding nothing to the discussion.
"Because China has a wonderful record on industrial pollution"
And this will affect the financial success of the project how? Grandparent's point was that technological advances since Panama Canal will make the project more cost effective.
"and Central America has a wonderful record on fiscal responsibility and accountable government."
Except it's the Chinese footing the bill and making the decisions, so this comment is irrelevant.
He's just pandering to Slashdot groupthink and bashing China pollution and Latin American corruption. And it worked too, currently at +5 insightful.
I lived in Nicaragua for five years... (Score:5, Insightful)
... and there was a broad consensus among both the ex-pats and the Nicaraguans I knew that a canal through Nicaragua would be an unqualified ecological disaster. It would cut a wide swath through the little remaining virgin forest there, not to mention clearing out many of the remaining indigenous communities. They apparently also want to build an airport, an oil pipeline, multiple "free-trade" zones, and a second deep-water port. I can't believe that surfing is considered more important than all this.