[Subjectivist]

The New Panamax clearance is still not as wide or as deep as the Chinamax clearance. Also, the Panama Canal has capacity problems. From Wikipedia's Panamax article, "Because the largest ships traveling in opposite directions cannot pass safely within the Culebra Cut, the canal effectively operates an alternating one-way system for these ships." Though that needs a "Citation needed", other sources agree.

The Culebra Cut is a channel dug through the mountains of central Panama. Digging it was a massive effort and a great engineering feat in its day.

There was a study a while back, not sure what thread it was in, that China is considering using a rock cutting dredge to widen and deepen the Culebra Cut to make it safe for large vessels to pass in both directions.

There is also talk every few years about upgrading the Saint Lawrence Seaway to at least old Panamax standards so that ocean going Container ships of Panamax size could travle all the way interior to Chicago, Illinois.

[Tanada]

Despite all the talk about China losing steam and having an economic crash plans are continuing forward with the mega project to build a new canal.

San Francisco: The main work on the Chinese backed Nicaragua Canal will start at the end of this year, a spokesperson for the country’s Interoceanic Grand Canal Commission has confirmed.

Preliminary work on the rival to the Panama Canal launched at the end of last year, including peripheral infrastructure such as traffic roads.

The main construction work will begin at Puerto Brito on the Pacific and the other terminal of Puerto Aguila on the Atlantic.

The $50bn project, initiated by Beijing telecoms tycoon Wang Jing, should be completed by 2019. The 278 km long waterway will allow 18,000 teu boxships to cross through Central America. It comes during a massive era of global canal construction. The expanded Suez Canal, with a secondary channel, officially opens in 10 days, while Panama’s expanded canal, which should double its annual capacity, is set to open next year. There’s even talk again of the Kra Canal, a waterway though southern Thailand.

http://splash247.com/main-work-on-nicar ... -year-end/

[Subjectivist]

The world’s biggest canal project – a $50bn interoceanic canal through Nicaragua – has been delayed, following an environmental report and a collapse in the fortunes of the Chinese businessman behind the company that planned to build it.


Land of opportunity – and fear – along route of Nicaragua’s giant new canal
Read more
The Hong Kong Nicaragua Development (HKND) Group announced on Wednesday that it would be another year before the start of major works on the proposed rival to the Panama canal.

The company said the “design of the canal is being fine tuned”, in accordance with recommendations contained in an environmental impact assessment.

Preliminary operations on ports and access roads started 11 months ago. Since then the slow pace of work on the canal has been attributed to the wait for the environmental report. The report was approved earlier this month, but instead of ramping up work the company said in a statement: “The construction of locks and the big excavations will start toward the end of 2016.”

The mega-project – which would be the world’s biggest earth-moving operation – has proved controversial since it was agreed by Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega and Wang Jing, the Chinese telecoms mogul who subsequently registered HKND.

Nicaraguan officials say the investment will boost the economy and raise living standards in the second-poorest nation in Latin America. But conservationists have warned that the 178-mile canal will damage Lake Nicaragua – the biggest freshwater source in Central America – and infringe upon protected areas and indigenous territory.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/n ... ese-tycoon

[Tanada]

Well I guess this will prove one way or the other if the government of China really is backing the canal project or not. If the government is just using HKND as a front organization 'new investors' will appear shortly and work will resume full pace operations. If this really is a project of a multi Billionaire who has now fallen on hard times funding will keep falling off until it zeroes out. Anyone care to guess which will turn out to be the truth?

[Ibon]

Well I guess this will prove one way or the other if the government of China really is backing the canal project or not. If the government is just using HKND as a front organization 'new investors' will appear shortly and work will resume full pace operations. If this really is a project of a multi Billionaire who has now fallen on hard times funding will keep falling off until it zeroes out. Anyone care to guess which will turn out to be the truth?

I hope it fails. I have in the meantime talked to visiting ecologists and also a couple of residents of Nicaragua who shared with me the unique habitat of Lake Nicaragua and the river that flows out of the lake down to the ocean. The fishery , the unique aquatic biodiversity, the sheer beauty of this lake and meandering river that flows to the sea bordered by riparian forest.... all to be destroyed and channeled. This specific area is Nicaraguas most treasured natural asset.

So late into human overshoot and we still do not value what is really wealth. Sure, money will poor into the country enabling a small middle class to emerge with buying power to siphon off some of the containers passing through the canal that will be filled with Chinese made crap....at the cost of destroying the country's most treasured natural asset. The country natural wealth will be made poor and a small percentage of the population will ramp up consumption.

The poorest of Nicaraguans will see little benefit except that the natural resource base they subsist off of will be made poorer.

Let's hope for some real global economic contraction in the months ahead to stop this madness

[Subjectivist]

Well I guess this will prove one way or the other if the government of China really is backing the canal project or not. If the government is just using HKND as a front organization 'new investors' will appear shortly and work will resume full pace operations. If this really is a project of a multi Billionaire who has now fallen on hard times funding will keep falling off until it zeroes out. Anyone care to guess which will turn out to be the truth?

I hope it fails. I have in the meantime talked to visiting ecologists and also a couple of residents of Nicaragua who shared with me the unique habitat of Lake Nicaragua and the river that flows out of the lake down to the ocean. The fishery , the unique aquatic biodiversity, the sheer beauty of this lake and meandering river that flows to the sea bordered by riparian forest.... all to be destroyed and channeled. This specific area is Nicaraguas most treasured natural asset.

So late into human overshoot and we still do not value what is really wealth. Sure, money will poor into the country enabling a small middle class to emerge with buying power to siphon off some of the containers passing through the canal that will be filled with Chinese made crap....at the cost of destroying the country's most treasured natural asset. The country natural wealth will be made poor and a small percentage of the population will ramp up consumption.

The poorest of Nicaraguans will see little benefit except that the natural resource base they subsist off of will be made poorer.

Let's hope for some real global economic contraction in the months ahead to stop this madness

They make a desert, and call it progress!

[Newfie]

Ibon,

I could not agree more!