Recommended the establishment of a huge opponent across the middle of the Panama Canal in Nicaragua lawmakers Thursday, capping a lightning-fast approval process, has provoked deep suspicion among experts and maritime environmental concerns.
President Daniel Ortega's leftist Sandinista Front for National Assembly voted to grant mainly a 50-year concession to learn, and may establish and operate a canal connecting the Pacific coast of Nicaragua's Caribbean and a Chinese company only previous experience, it seems that in Telecom.
61-25 vote to approve the bill does not contain a specific route canal and its economic feasibility of financing or almost no details, but Hong Kong companies the exclusive rights granted to research planning and construction, if it proves to be feasible Canal in exchange Nicaragua received a minority stake in any eventual profits.
Ortega's supporters say that China will transform the region's poorest countries, to a transoceanic canal in Nicaragua a century-old dream into reality, bringing tens of thousands of working on national and contributing to the economic prosperity and prosperity will mimic the nearby Panama Canal with US-made.
"Nicaragua is one of the great wealth of its location, which is why the idea has always been around," Sang Rep. Jacinto Soares said in Thursday's legislative debate. "Global trade needs, this canal was built, because it was necessary data show that sea transport is growing, which makes it feasible. Opposition it is not patriotic."
Hong Kong companies will now begin a feasibility study that will last for many months, says chief project consultant Bill Wild, some Western experts hired by the company providing engineering and environmental planning to one of the recommendations of public relations.
He said it was too early to say if the widely reported $ 4 billion U.S. dollars of the cost of the project will become accurate. Although rising demand for shipping canal seems to make a compelling new economic situation, it is impossible to predict prior to the study of the project will be complete, if economically feasible, he said.
Canal project will require financing from international investors.
"There is a compelling business reason to build the canal," Wild said. "We now have to prove that the actual rate of return, investors will get enough."
While the company has said almost nothing about the canal route, it certainly will cross Lake Nicaragua, the country's main source of fresh water. If one was once the world's largest infrastructure projects actually completed, the use of water through the canal locks may be a serious drain on the lake, environmentalists say.
'Approval, which is unconstitutional, fraud and harm the interests of Nicaragua. "Great Chinese" no money or experience a work of this size have no precedent to support it, "Eduardo Montealegre leaders Opposition members said that in the general debate Thursday.
Global Engineering and shipping experts say that these problems are real, large-scale container shipping and other potential routes increasingly fierce competition, it may simply mean that Nicaragua Canal would prove economically feasible, reduce demand.
Either way, a forced march through the National Assembly of the canal project has been set off environmental and other activists this week held a series of protest rights granted Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Hong Kong Limited, did not rebound any public bidding process in its financing details.
"Nicaragua is not for sale belong to all of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, and his family is not private property, sport Nicaragua, a coalition of civil society groups, said:" Wednesday in an open letter to the state.
When he came to power in 1979, Ortega was they tried to overthrow the U.S. government in the 1980s to support Contra rebels by the socialist agitators. He was named out of the office, but in 1990 returned to win the 2006 elections. Critics claim that, since then, 67-year-old leader of manipulation become president for life, the courts and electoral institutions, stacked from his Sandinista Front appointment.
2009 Sandinista majority on the Supreme Court rejected the continuous limit by the Nicaraguan constitutional provisions that allow Ortega to run, to win his third five-year term.
Other recent Nicaraguan President has repeatedly tried to win support for the canal, but without success.
Some economists have expressed doubts about the proposed canal.
North American companies are more and more factories and suppliers in the United States and Latin America, rather than in Asia, rising wages in China, the company's attractiveness to foreign manufacturers.
In addition, the slowdown in global economic growth in recent years means a lot of idle vessels, perhaps 5% of the global fleet. Experts say that many vessels are expected to be completed within the next few years, which means that the proportion of idle vessels could grow to more than 20%.
Global warming means that, even in the Arctic could become a viable alternative to the canal across Central America.
"Finding the flow of change and growth in the world economy, I do not see it personally, I would not invest my money, Rosalyn Wilson said:" In Toronto Tao Kang engineering consultants, senior business analyst at the U.S. logistics industry annual report based transport consultant and writer.
"It is definitely here now, I do not know if it is a build it and they will come sort of thing need to be resolved," she said.
Eduardo Lugo, Panama port logistics consultant for 10 years of the Panama Canal expansion project, also questioned the transport needs of the global cost of the project will support the Nicaraguan high traffic demand.
"Some of the growth in world trade The biggest question is, what kind of line is that trade on the move, which is a real challenge, Nicaragua faces," said Paul Bingham, economic analysis in project planning firm CDM Smith head, specializing in large-scale water and transportation infrastructure. "It is very easy to say trade continued to grow, but it does not mean that Nicaragua will be a competitive position, use it ... I do not believe it."
Supporters of former canal plan that than Panama, Nicaragua route will prove to be more economical, because it will deal with ship cargo capacity is much greater.
But the path of Nicaragua will have about three times as long than Panama, which is about 50 miles (80 km) long, the Panama Canal Administrator Jorge Quijano said the fact that "provides us with a more competitive advantage. "
"It was not easy, Quijano said." "Terrain is very complex, but not ours."
Wilson also said that the project could have serious implications because Lake Nicaragua, also known as Cocibolca of fresh water consumption, will be used to operate the canal.
"Run lock, it requires a lot of water," said Wilson. "" Will, in such a way that no deal go down another part of the country's economic okay? "
Roberto Troncoso Panamanian Association of Business Executives The Chairman said that the Chinese government might encourage a new way to build the canal route independent of the Panama Canal, which is considered to be under the influence of heavy U.S. surplus.
"The money is totally irrelevant," he said. "We are talking about national hegemony, China is becoming a major force in the economy. Where trade dominated dominated world."
United States did not take any official position Nicaragua canal.
Chinese companies declined to comment on record about its funding and supporters.
According to local records, Nicaragua Canal Development and Investment Co., Ltd. of Hong Kong head Wang Jing has also been about a dozen other companies, and some of the other directors have been disbanded.
He also led the Beijing Xinwei, a medium-sized telecommunications companies, according to Chinese media reports, part owner of a big-government telecommunications equipment company, Datang reorganization in 2010, sold its shares.
Panama and Nicaragua is a transoceanic canal route, from the first arrival of Europeans in Latin America's top contenders. A French company began digging the Panama Canal in 1880, but the work is to stop the rampant tropical diseases such as malaria and yellow fever. The project is the United States, in 1914 completed a $ 40 million sale.
Historians say the death of 5,609 people, mainly West Indian workers in its construction period, controlled by France, the top 22,000 deaths.
 



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