China To Build Nicaragua Canal, "World's Largest Infrastructure Project Ever"

Zero Hedge ^ | 8-6-2014 | Tyler Durden

[Lower Deck]

A month ago, a Nicaraguan committee approved Chinese billionaire Wang Jing's project to create The Nicaraguan Canal. With a planned capacity to accommodate ships with loaded displacement of 400,000 tons (notably bigger than The Panama Canal)...

So how much demand is there for a canal capable of handling ships displacing 400,000 tons? Right now the only ships that size are the T1 tankers running oil from the middle east to Europe and Asia. Those aren't going to do that via Nicaragua. The Panama Canal Expansion, due to go into service in a year or two, can easily handle the largest container ships. It would seem to me that the Nicaragua project will be a canal without a customer.

[Hot Tabasco]

I thought the Chinese already had some sort of hold on the Panama Canal!

They do but I don't think it's wide enough to accomodate many of today's super tankers.......

Kudos to the Chinese for having the foresight to attempt this project. Hopefully it will do for Nicaragua what the Panama Canal has done for Panama City and the rest of the country.....

[jmcenanly]

If we tried to do something like that today, every eco-nut in the world would be chaining themselves to our construction equipment, while they would be finding endangered species by the truckload.

[bert]

I have a map I acquired years ago from a source that can’t be named, that indicates the route of the US survey for the canal route across Nicaragua. The map was prepared for the 39th Congress by the US Engineer office in 1931.

The route starts as shown on this map, at Brito and the Rio Grande, but when it gets to the blue lake, it swings south to the Rio San Juan that divides Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

[Bender2]

Re: "Our canal lock is 15-meter-thick, hard steel. Imagine its size. [It'll be] the world's largest," the 41-year-old Wang said"

Gadzooks! I haven't seen a 41-year old wang... since the day before my 42nd birthday--

[BwanaNdege]

Longshoremen, Teamsters, Democrats, Lawyers, EPA, OSHA, EEOC...

Take your pick, they’re everywhere! It’s really hard to do an efficient, productive job sometimes.

[Mike Darancette]

I hope the UN is requesting an environmental impact study.

[Mike Darancette]

I wonder how much gold prospecting they will do on the way?

I know I would rinse a pan or two.

[Mike Darancette]

That’s actually a real good idea for Mexico and the US.

[Osage Orange]

Might be a conduit for ChiCom war ships.............

[grania]

The US is more concerned about Russia’s border with Ukraine that (1) our border with Mexico and (2)a strong Chinese presence in Nicaragua.