Elena Studneva

Nicaraguan Canal could be revolutionary for shipping. Russian experts and political scientists express this idea in view of the possible involvement of Russia in its construction. The canal is expected to link the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and would follow rivers up to Lake Nicaragua and then cut across the isthmus of Rivas to reach the Pacific. The idea of building the canal was proposed in the 16th century by Spanish conquistadors who occupied the continent. Then, Spanish King Philip II prohibited even the discussion of such a project. The contours of the project were drawn in the 21st century. The original idea has lately been modernized and might be realized in 12 years. The Nicaraguan Canal would be better from an economic and a logistics standpoint when it is compared with the renovation project of the Panama Canal, which is now under reconstruction. It is three times longer than the Panama Canal – 286 kilometers. Its depth is 22 meters. All this shows that the new route could handle 270 000-ton ships, while the Panama Canal could allow for the passage of up to 130 000-ton ships after reconstruction. In view of this, the project has geopolitical significance, said Russian political analyst, Vyacheslav Nikonov.

Nikonov noted that this is an idea of constructing a canal that links the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and is independent of the U.S. From Nicaragua’s standpoint, the realization of the project gives the country tangible political and economic advantages, and, from the point of view of the other countries that are engaged in active international trade, this is quite beneficial.

The Latin American countries will use it more often than others. The canal is advantageous for the leading shipping companies in Asia and Europe that transport cargo across the world. It promotes cargo shipping between the two oceans and increase the world trade volume, said Vyacheslav Nikonov.

The deputy head of Russia’s Economic Development Ministry’s foreign economic ties department, Dmitri Sazhin agrees with the political scientist.

Dmitri Sazhin says that this is a large-scale project and a good opportunity for the US and China to cut short shipping routes. Russia will be benefited by transportation. Moreover, this is a large-scale infrastructure project that needs skill engineering services. This is quite interesting for Russia since it has experience in carrying out such works, said Dmitri Sazhin.

The coast of the project has been reduced to 18 from 20 billion US dollars. The service of 20 thousand workers will be needed to realize the project. The canal is incomparable in transport capabilities. If the unforeseeable circumstances will not jeopardize the project the canal could revolutionize international cargo shipping.