Post: #1

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/01/17/21...canal.html

They are thinking about building a canal there to compete with the one in Panama.

   

Post: #2

The Chinese are insane at going to all these places and building infrastructure. I remember going through Africa and you'd go to some remote places and see 100 Chinese construction workers building a freaking bridge or something. So I have absolutely no doubt they'll build this canal in Nicaragua, hell I thought it already was finalized.

Meanwhile in America we can't even build one freaking high speed rail line cause certain types don't want to invest in anything but weapons and wars.

Post: #3

I wonder what ecological effect this will have on Lake Nicaragua.

Post: #4

Yeah the Chinese don't take a lot of time discussing the benefits and/or adverse effects to building shit. Once they have an idea...it's built rather quickly. Sure this proposed canal in Nicaragua will be no different.

Post: #5

(01-19-2014 08:28 PM)Tenerife Wrote:  I wonder what ecological effect this will have on Lake Nicaragua.

I enjoyed it while it lasted. Lago Nicaragua is a world treasure and to lay its preservation at the feet of the Chinese is problematic, to put it charitably.

Post: #6

China also wants to do something like this in Colombia

http://m.us.wsj.com/articles/SB100014240...6?mobile=y

Colombia has basically no rail infrastructure, apparently corrupt bus company owners basically had the government nix all rail projects in the middle of the 1900s...

Anyway they plan to build a railroad connecting the carribean and pacific coasts so that Colombian hydrocarbon exports can reach China more easily and chinese cconusumer goods can bypass the Panama Canal.

If I recall they also want to build a Chinese manufacturing city on Colombias carribean coast, exempt from colombian laws and taxation, to expprt directly to the U.S....

Quite ambitious. Colombians would be wise not to do this though trade with Chna is gutting Colombian industry

Post: #7

damn red army (jk?). colombia is not safe from chinese., africa is not safe from chinese ;p, persia is not safe from chinese, russia,is not safe from chinese. if u dont believe me look it up (chinese immigrants on HB-1 type visas for all these places in the world. they built a'the us railway system, but the nicaragua canal is a disaster. there goes the nicaragua $1 meal. i'll have to pay $2 for the same portions,after this canal gets built. plus they'll start learning chinese and gringos will lose value. i work in healthcare currently and i dont want to learn some new language called mandarin. ;p the chinese are a very diverse people but the traveling chinese are a disease of globalization. i'm not dissing the people of china, i'm talking about the situation. ¿will we have to know chinese to get top-paying jobs in 2024? excuse me while i order some 'kung-pao' chicken from chopsticks restuarant. one of my friends is from china ^^

Post: #8

Despite the greater distance in the Nicaragua route, if it would be possible to make a canal without locks, then transit time would be greatly reduced and simplified (no effort needed or risks incurred for constant opening and closing of locks). It really depends on the terrain between Venado and Lake Nicaragua if it's sloped or not, what kind of rock it's made of, climate conditions, etc.

I have no doubt that China can pull it off, the only question is: will such a canal be more attractive to ships than the current Panama route? Of course, the construction cost would be enormous, but if 100-year usage rights are given in return, there's no doubt that it would pay off.

Post: #9

For the young entrepreneur, figure out how to get a work permit in Nicaragua and import booze/women. This canal would be a massive project requiring thousands of men working in a remote place. As soon as they get their paychecks, the construction workers will want to blow it on booze, women, and gambling. There would definitely be lots of money to be made.

Post: #10

A Nicaraguan canal would bring about a modest change in world trade but a much more significant one in Panama's economy, which relies incredibly heavily on the canal.

I can't find a source right now but I seem to remember the canal being responsible for about 1/5 of Panama's GDP and the main reason for Panama having such a large service sector compared to other countries.

The implication is that for those (mostly American, I assume) Westerners in Panama, things will change greatly if this project goes ahead. Not least because American dominance in central America could be challenged by feats like this, which eventually lead to Westerner workers being replaced by their Chinese equivalents.

It would take around six years to complete, however.

Post: #11

There was a lot of talk about building the canal in Nicaragua before the Panama Canal was built. Panama got the canal largely because of concerns about volcanic activity in Nicaragua.

https://parallelnarratives.com/the-panam...e-of-1902/

https://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/...canal.html

Post: #12

I forgot about the Nicaragua canal.

Especially since Panama now a new canal as of June 2016 - one that can take newer, larger ships that cannot go through the original canal.

Apparently, the new canal is having some issues though.

Hopefully, it will be able to cripple the clerical employee Longshoreman Union slugs who shut down the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach in 2012 because I guess a six-figure income is not sufficient for clerical work.

Larger ships with Asian goods can bypass LA/Long Beach by going directly to the east coast through the new canal.

Post: #13

For those interested in this subject, the Nicaragua Canal is actually a fascinating story.

I highly recommend reading the biography of Corneilus Vanderbilt.

Or here is a short version

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wa...ilibuster)

Post: #14

Will it be bad for the environment? Of course... Especially if the Chinese build it.

But if we always listen to environmentalists, no massive projects would ever take place.

Let's now look at the positive :
-It will boost Nicaragua's economy. The GDP will most likely double within a decade.
-Shipping costs will be lower
-Shipping will be faster (there's a lot of "traffic" to cross the Panama Canal, many boats need to wait a few days before being able to cross)
http://gcaptain.com/there-is-a-huge-back...ama-canal/
-Panama controls the only canal. Having China/Panama control the other one will make some competition.

Post: #15

This isn't going to happen.

It does not make any economic sense to build a canal through Nicaragua. The expanion of the Panama canal makes it unnecssary, and newer methods of intermodal shipping (shipping goods to the coast, then loading them directly onto trains, for example) makes it cheaper and faster to move goods from one coast to the other. The profit motive simply isn't there.

In addition to this, it would also destroy the unique ecosystem of Lake Nicaragua and indigenous people would have to be forceably relocated off their land. All the environmental and human rights groups would turn it into such a PR nightmare that the developers won't want to continue.

I thought for awhile this was some sort geopolitical move (I suspect this company in Hong Kong was working as a front for the Chinese government so they could gain a foothold in the Western Hemisphere.) But there are just so many factors working against this, I just don't see it ever happening.

Post: #16

Nobody witnessed any construction as of yet?