OPINION AFP / GETTY IMAGES Controversy runs deep in Nicaragua’s canal plan World’s largest infrastructure project sparks protests, environmental concerns and suspicions of corruption February 24, 2015 2:00AM ET by Reese Erlich @ReeseErlich The Nicaraguan government and a Chinese development company have started work on what they claim is the world’s largest infrastructure project: a new canal to connect the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Three times as large as the Panama Canal, the $50 billion project will speed shipping time for supertankers taking shale oil and liquefied natural gas from the Eastern United States to energy-hungry Asia. Supporters say the canal and related projects will create over 250,000 jobs. That’s if the canal gets built. I went to Nicaragua in order to sort through the wildly different claims by canal supporters and critics. Opponents emphasize the lack of government transparency and poten...
Posts
TERCER JUEGO DE ESCLUSAS Los 10 mitos sobre la ampliación Las tres propuestas que recibió la ACP en 2009 eran diferentes, porque cada una tenía un diseño propio. 18 feb 2014 - 00:02h Twitter Shares 0 Facebook Shares 0 Email 0 Aunque son muchos temas los que motivan debate en la opinión pública sobre la ampliación de la vía, la Autoridad del Canal de Panamá (ACP) responde 10 “mitos” sobre el proyecto que se adjudicó Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC) y que está paralizado desde el 5 de febrero por insolvencia económica del consorcio. La ACP aclara que cada una de las tres propuestas que recibió en 2009 para ampliar el Canal era diferente, debido a que la convocatoria consistía en que cada proponente presentara un diseño propio. Con esta modalidad la cantidad de material que se iba a utilizar para construir las nuevas esclusas variaba en cada una de las ofertas y por consiguiente también su precio final. Mito 1- El precio ofrecido por Grupo Unidos por ...
Nicaragua's New Canal Could Be Environmental Disaster, Report Says FEBRUARY 12, 2015 1:29 PM ET SCOTT NEUMAN Twitter Residents shout slogans during a protest march against the construction of the planned interoceanic canal, in San Jorge, Nicaragua, in October. Esteban Felix/AP Scientists are warning that construction of a $50-billion interoceanic shipping canal through Nicaragua could spell an environmental disaster, threatening nearly two-dozen endangered species and jeopardizing Central America's largest source of drinking water. An article published in the latest issue of Scientific American reports that the Hong Kong-backed Nicaragua Grand Canal and Development Project, which would be deeper and wider than the existing shipping canals through Panama, could destroy millions of acres of rainforest and contaminate Lake Nicaragua. The project has already raised concern over the displacement of communities in its path an...
Skeptical Panama pays heed to possible rival Nicaraguan canal BY TIM JOHNSON MCCLATCHY FOREIGN STAFF 02/09/2015 3:39 PM 02/09/2015 3:39 PM › ‹ The stately headquarters of the Panama Canal, seen in this Jan. 29, 2015, photo, sits on a hill overlooking the waterway. Panama is heeding reports of a project to build a trans-oceanic canal in Nicaragua but with some skepticism. TIM JOHNSON MCCLATCHY Story Comments PANAMA CITY When it comes to interoceanic canals, Panamanians speak with a century of experience. So as nearby Nicaragua moves ahead with a plan to build what it claims would be a bigger, better canal, some Panamanians look on with interest and puzzlement. “We take the possibility of construction of a canal in Nicaragua very seriously,” said Francisco J. Miguez, executive vice president for finance and administration of the Panama Canal Authority, the waterway’s operator. The Nicaragu...