Plan
for Inter-Ocean Canal Reborn
Lidia
Hunter*
MANAGUA, (Tierramérica) -
Nicaragua is once again dreaming of
building an inter-ocean route -- one
that would make the Panama Canal look
tiny. But the mega-project, which
would take 10 years to complete and
would cost more than 25 times the
national budget, could be catastrophic
for the environment, say ecologists.
There are four projects under
consideration for connecting the
Atlantic and Pacific oceans via
different routes across Nicaragua. The
goal is to be able to transport
volumes of cargo that the Panama Canal
cannot handle.
To date, only the government has
proposed a water-only route. If
approved, the canal must guarantee
”absolute control over sovereignty
and ecology,” Arturo Harding,
Nicaragua's environment minister, told
Tierramérica.
Harding is a member of a governmental
commission that is drawing up a
preliminary study to determine whether
canal construction would be feasible.
Jorge Huezo, also on the commission,
told Tierramérica that the studies
should be ready by the end of the
year, and then a legislative bill
would be sent to congress ”in order
to give the country a legal framework
for negotiating mega-projects,
particularly the canal.”
The route ”would be much bigger than
the Panama Canal -- if it is built,”
said Harding.
According to government sources, of
the six billion tons of merchandise
transported internationally by various
means each year, only 200 million tons
pass through the Panama Canal,
suggesting that a new route in
Nicaragua would be worthwhile.
The Nicaraguan canal would serve ”a
different type of market than
Panama's,” as the new route would be
able to handle 250,000-ton ships,
compared to the 50,000-ton vessels
that make the Panamanian crossing,
Harding explained.
According to a profile drawn up by
Nicaraguan experts in 2000, a canal
that is one kilometre wide and 400 km
long would cost 20 to 25 billion
dollars. Nicaragua's national budget
does not surpass one billion dollars
annually.
Construction would take place through
contracts granted in an international
bidding process.
The canal would begin in Brito, in the
southwestern department of Rivas on
the Pacific coast, and end on the
Caribbean coast, in the department of
Atlántico Sur.
The study includes a project to
reforest 40,000 square km, which would
require an annual budget of 150
million dollars.
”It is not enough to reforest” the
areas affected by canal construction,
says Anfer López, head of campaigns
at the non-governmental
conservationist Humboldt Centre.
The canal could introduce
transmissible disease and would create
a physical barrier to movement
throughout Nicaraguan territory, which
would be divided by the water route.
The centre also warns that the
mega-project would alter the
ecosystems that support the lifestyles
of indigenous communities and would
violate international environmental
treaties.
The investors ”are interested in
having their canal, but who is going
to take responsibility for curbing the
collateral impacts it produces? Who is
going to make sure that the
construction companies are held
accountable?” asks López.
A project of this magnitude will have
major environmental impacts, and the
aim to build the canal is like
”putting a sword to the neck”,
because the country does not have a
legal framework for water use, said
activist Kamilo Lara, of the
non-governmental Soluciones
Ambientales (Environmental Solutions).
Responding to criticisms, Harding said
that ”poverty is the leading cause
of environmental destruction” in
Nicaragua. And if things continue as
they are, with 45 percent of the
population of 5.4 million living in
poverty, in 15 years the environmental
degradation produced by poverty could
be much worse than that caused by the
canal, he said.
In addition to the government's plan
for a canal, there are two proposals
for building an inter-ocean railroad.
The Intermodal System for Global
Transport (SIT Global), involving
Nicaraguan and Canadian entrepreneurs,
proposes a railway with an oil
pipeline and fibre optic cable running
parallel. Environmental impact studies
for the project will begin this year.
Another group, the Inter-Ocean Canal
of Nicaragua, proposes building two
ports, one on the Atlantic, the other
on the Pacific, united by 400 km of
railroad.
The consortium is working on the
design and geo-engineering studies of
the two port terminals, its promoters
said in August.
The fourth plan is the Eco Canal, a
small project compared with the
others, to consist of an internal
route for smaller ships to carry
merchandise containers along the
existing waterways of the San Juan
River and Lake Cocibolca (also known
as Lake Nicaragua).
Minister Harding says the three
private initiatives could complement
the government's canal plans.
(* Lidia Hunter is a Tierramérica
contributor. Originally published
Sep.. 6 by Latin American newspapers
that are part of the Tierramérica
network. Tierramérica is a
specialised news service produced by
IPS with the backing of the United
Nations Development Programme and the
United Nations Environment Programme.)
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