Nicaraguan dream to rival Panama's trade route

[T_i_B]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1066567,00.html

Multi-billion dollar plans to create a rival to the 90-year-old Panama canal by linking a network of rivers and cutting through the jungle of central America are being backed by the goverment of Nicaragua.

The new waterway - being proposed by a public private partnership called the Grand Canal Foundation - will cost an estimated $25bn (£15bn) and take 10 years to build. Its proponents say it would turn Nicaragua into the wealthiest nation in Central America within 20 years.

The rewards for success appear to be considerable. Nearly 15,000 ships use the Panama canal each year carrying 200m tonnes of cargo, earning the country nearly $800m.

Since the Sandinista revolution ended with the 1990 elections, three other canal proposals have been put forward. Two are so-called "dry canals" - high-speed railways designed to carry containers from deep-water ports at either end. Both envisage double-decker trains up to 16 miles long running on a nearly identical route across the country. The cost of the rival plans varies significantly at $1.4bn against $2.6bn. The third proposal is for the Eco-Canal, modestly priced at just $50m, which would make low-impact use of the San Juan river and Lake Nicaragua.

[On the Road]

1. This Idea is at Least 130 Years Old

Conrelius Vanderbilt, the railroad magnate, actually took a trip to Nicaragua. The idea was that ships could sail up teh San Juan River to Lake Managua and have their cargo ported by a short land route to the Pacific. He was able to reach the lake only by attaching cables to his steamship and winching the ship over some rapids.

Actually, the idea is even older than I thought:

Nicaragua Canal
Proposed waterway between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. It would be 172.8 mi (278 km) long and would generally follow the San Juan River, then go through Lake Nicaragua near the southern shore and across the narrow isthmus of Rivas to the Pacific Ocean. First proposed by Henry Clay, the U.S. secretary of state in 1826, the route was an important factor in negotiation of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty (1850).

[The Backlash Cometh]

2. Nicaragua was originally considered, then dismissed.

Earthquakes seemed to be one of the factors. Not that I know that Nicaragua has them in abundance, but that Panama had some delicate ancient architecture which suggested it was a stabile country in that department. Specifically, an arch without a center stone which has survived centuries.

[SoCalDem]

3. Panama has DAILY quakes, but only a few "semi-big" ones

Every cupboard in our house had locks on them to prevent the stuff toppling out during the night:)

and once our steps from the second floor (outside) cracked in half..one side ended up about 6 inches lower than the one attached to the house :)

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. Must be something recent.

I lived there for twenty years and only felt one major quake. Never felt small ones.

Do you know the arch I'm talking about? The one in the ruins near the Golden Altar?

[SoCalDem]

5. Yep I have pictures of it..

The Church of the Golden Altars is something else :)

We lived at Albrook AFB for 8 yrs..

I would SO love to go back..I know it would break my heart.. we lived there in the 50's & 60's when it was still pristine :)

[dArKeR]

6. I wonder if you could put the ships on wheels are drive them on a highway?

[T_i_B]

7. Well......

You could always just unload all the containers off one vessel at one Nicaraguan port and have an army of lorries transport them to another one on the other side of Nicaragua. :eyes: Mind you, here are some of the plans. Make of these what you will. From the article.

Since the Sandinista revolution ended with the 1990 elections, three other canal proposals have been put forward.

Two are so-called "dry canals" - high-speed railways designed to carry containers from deep-water ports at either end. Both envisage double-decker trains up to 16 miles long running on a nearly identical route across the country. The cost of the rival plans varies significantly at $1.4bn against $2.6bn.

The third proposal is for the Eco-Canal, modestly priced at just $50m, which would make low-impact use of the San Juan river and Lake Nicaragua.

The river would be dredged in places but maintain its natural riverbanks. Instead of traditional locks, air-powered moveable dams would be used to assist cargo barges to pass two stretches of rapids.