The government of Nicaragua granted a Chinese company a 100-year concession on building of the Panama Canal rival. The Guardian says that the name of the company and details of the contract are yet to be disclosed. Meanwhile, the project's value is estimated at $40 billion.
Nicaragua's president Daniel Ortega declared that the canal, aimed at bridging the Pacific and Atlantiс oceans, will run through Lake Nicaragua. The waterway is said to be 22 m in depth, 20 m in width and 286 km in length. Thus, Nicaraguan canal will be bigger than its analogue in Panama in all dimensions.
Besdies, the ships with a dead weight of up 250,000 tonnes will be able to go through the passage which is two times more than the Panama Canal's capasity after renovation.
Nicaragua moved forward with its plan to rival the Panama Canal last June. The project was assessed at $30 billion back then. Japan, China, Russia, Venecuella, Brazil, and South Korea were included to the list of possible partners.
The Panama Canal will be 100 years old in 2014. Now it is undergoing a major expansion due to which its carrying capacity should increase. In 2011 it emerged that China would help Colombia to build a rail alternative to the Panama Canal that would stretch about 220 km. The trunk’s purpose is to connect the ports of the Pacific Ocean and Carribean Sea.
