This Atlantic Pacific canal would transform Nicaragua.

The President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, has just announced a new route of the interoceanic canal construction project on November 18, 2024, within the framework of the XVII China-Latin America and the Caribbean Business Summit, held at the Olaf Palme Convention Centre in Managua. Speaking before the 250 representatives of Chinese institutions and companies and more than 70 delegates from Latin America and the Caribbean, President Ortega, extended an invitation to other nations that wish to join the initiative as an alternative to the Panama Canal, which was built 100 years ago and not able to cope with 21st century maritime shipping needs.The Panama Canal, which handles around 5% of global seaborne trade, faces significant challenges with water levels and vessel traffic, leading to lengthy delays. The Panama Canal has experienced a 29% decrease in ship transits over the past fiscal year due to severe drought conditions, according to the Panama Canal Authority (ACP). From October 2023 to September 2024, only 9,944 vessels passed through the canal, compared to 14,080 the previous year.

Western neo liberal governments are concerned as China replaces them in Africa and South America, but I don’t see it as being any different from strong EU economies building up poorer countries like Ireland and former Eastern block countries, to creat a market for their exports. China does not have the colonial baggage that European and American countries have and I have no doubt iChina is going to transform the developing world for good. Rather than setting up those countries for exploitation for multi national corporations through “ structural adjustment” programmes; the conditions World bank impose on developing countries as a condition of loans. Structural adjustments are basically privatising public services .

The project has as its starting point the deep-water Atlantic port in Bluefields, whose construction will begin in the second half of 2025 in the South Caribbean Coast, crosses several segments through the interior of the country, until concluding in Puerto Corinto, in the Nicaraguan Pacific. The new route of the Interoceanic Canal in Nicaragua has been designed with the aim of mitigating environmental and social impacts to a minimum particularly the freshwater lake Nicaragua. This new route of 445 kilometres in length and width of 290 m-540 m solves many of the problems presented by the shorter route fallowing the San Juan River into Lake Nicaragua

The official announcement by President Daniel Ortega of a new route for the canal in November 2024

The history of previous efforts to build an Atlantic Pacific canal