Opinions Differ on
Nicaragua Canal
Managua - Opinions
differ on the
construction of the
long-planned project for
the construction of a
Nicaraguan Canal linking
the Atlantic and Pacific
oceans.
Politicians,
environmentalists and
economists have been
weighing its pros and
cons now that the
projects has been put
again in the limelight
after President Daniel
Ortega´s recent visit to
Russia.
While in Moscow, Ortega
signed an agreement with
Russia to study the
feasibility of building
the canal, which is
supposed to carry bigger
ships than the ones
passing through the
Panama Canal.
Several possible routes
have been proposed for a
canal in Nicaragua, all
making use of Lake
Nicaragua, the second
largest lake in Latin
America.
According to Ortega, the
one that goes along the
San Juan river into Lake
Nicaragua, and from
there, 20 kilometers
through the Rivas
isthmus, in the south,
seems to be the most
feasible option.
The Nicaraguan
government said bids are
open for multi-national
participation in the
project, to prevent
one-bidder management as
it happened in Panama,
whose canal was owned by
the United States for a
long time.
China, Japan, South
Korea, Brazil, the
United States, the
United Arab Emirates
have so far voiced their
interests in building
the Nicaragua canal.
Some experts have warned
of the danger of
polluting the Lake
Nicaragua, but other
like Adolfo Evertsz,
chairman of the
Nicaragua Canal
Foundation, said there
are international
regulations to prevent
it.
The canal subject that
goes back to last
century always caused
controversies in the
country and abroad but,
however, many
Nicaraguans harbor the
idea that one day they
will have a waterway
linking both oceans.
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