HK company proposing to build Nicaragua canal targets ships that new Panama Canal can't handle

THE privately-held international infrastructure development firm headquartered in Hong Kong, HKND Group, which is proposing to build a new canal across Nicaragua is targeting operators of large ships that will not pass even through the new set of locks being built at the Panama Canal.

The chairman and chief executive officer of HKND Group, Wang Jing, said in a statement posted on his company's website: "It has become imperative to develop and construct a wider and deeper interoceanic canal to support bigger load weight and generate greater efficiency."

Last year, Nicaragua's unicamaral legislature approved granting a 50-year concession to HKND to plan and build the canal with an option for a 50-year extension. The project is supported by President Daniel Ortega.

HKND said its "actions will be guided by the principles of respecting sovereignty, protecting environment, benefiting people and spurring economy and undertaken in the spirit of openness, fairness, integrity and transparency."

But the proposal was strongly opposed by legislators who expressed concern about the scope of the project, which would also include ports, foreign trade zones, a pipeline and airport and environmentalists, according to American Shipper which quoted the BBC. 

Press reports say the project will have an estimated cost of US$40 billion, but it's not clear if that figure is for the canal only or includes related projects.

"Though the Panama Canal is being expanded to take 13,000-TEU containerships, this limit is already being tested by profitability pressures - the largest Super-Post-Panamax ships now account for over 10 per cent of global container shipping capacity. "Since the expanded Panama Canal will not be able to accommodate these ships, the substantial efficiencies that these mega-freighters bring will be partly negated by the longer route they will need to traverse in order to serve the Asia - U.S. East Coast corridor. The Nicaragua Canal would be able to accommodate the largest ships.