Nicaragua Canal will dwarf the Panama Canal

The proposed Nicaragua Canal, if the US$50 billion project actually gets finished, will dwarf its near neighbour, the Panama Canal.

According to Malay Mail Online, the prospective canal will stretch 278 kilometres and will vary in width from 230 metres to 520m and is also planned to be 27.6m deep.

That, according to Port Technology, will mean that the finished Nicaragua Canal will be 3.5 times longer than the upgraded Panama Canal, which is anticipated to be completed by 2016.

A video on the web pointed out that, with its dimensions, the Nicaragua Canal will be able to take vessels up to 400m long and capable of carrying 18 000 TEUs. This compared to the new Panama Canal’s maximum vessel length of 366m carrying 12 000 TEUs.

Construction of the new canal will begin on December 22 this year, and will take approximately five years to complete.

The canal, being developed by the Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co (HKND), is anticipated to generate annual revenue of at least US$5.5bn and the planners are hoping it will accommodate 4.5% of the world’s cargo shipping traffic.