Consider the following- Since the size of the average ship used in international shipping has become much larger is has made the Panama canal to small for many of the vessels. Recently a Hong Kong based company has been research and proposing a canal though Nicaragua as of December 2014 the proposed project will cost 40 to 50 billion dollars. Construction is set to begin in five years. President Ortega of Nicaragua approved the project with little discussion or input by the Nicaraguan public. The land for the canal will be leased to the Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development Group for 50 years. In the past Nicaragua was a location that France proposed for a location of canal but it was very realized and America abandoned the area when they were able to secure the project Panama form the French. Many environmental groups fear the environmental impact of the project and rick of oil spills in the area which would come with the increased traffic. China has said they have no connection to the Hong Kong development company but they have made proposals to update the Panama canal in the past. But the profitability of this project was put into question as the Suez Canal updated their locks and made the time it take to traverse it from 11 hours to only 3. Much of the funding from from Cayman island accounts but the leader of the Hon Kong investment groups Wang Jing has said he doesnt have the funds they require but he has attracted many foreign investors for the project already. Russia has expressed interest in funding the project as well to increase their profile in that region of the world. China has been investing heavily into other regions of the world mainly Africa and China has surpassed American level of investment recently. The biggest Chinese investment has been in Mozambique and other Southern African nations working mainly on infrastructure projects. Also China is trying to make inroads with Latin American countries as well. China has become the biggest trade partner with Brazil surpassing America which has been Brazils dominate trading partner since World War 2.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 17:01:39 +0000