Nicaragua has approved plans for a new canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The 278-kilometre waterway will cut across the Central American country. Rather than rivaling the nearby Panama Canal, developers say the 50 billion dollar project should satisfy the changing needs of the 21st century, and will complement the Panama Canal. The prospective ability of the canal will be to facilitate container vessels of up to 18,000 TEU, unlike the nearby Panama.

The project will be overseen by Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co Ltd (HKND Group), who has been awarded a 50-year concession to carve the channel through the Central American country. The plan is to finish the canal within an ambitious five years, with it becoming operational around 2020.

With the rapid increase in East-West trade volume and increasing ship sizes, there is a sufficient justification for a second interoceanic Canal spanning Central America. The trend of increasing ship size alone demonstrates there is a huge market potential for the Nicaragua Canal.  In 2030, the combined value of goods passing through the Nicaragua Canal and Panama Canal will surpass 1.4 trillion dollars.

Source: www.porttechnology.org