China in talks over Panama Canal rival

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Financial Times:

China is in talks to build an alternative to the Panama Canal that would link Colombia’s Atlantic and Pacific coasts by rail – a move that Bogotá also hopes will spur Washington to push for Congressional approval of a US-Colombia free-trade pact.

“It’s a real proposal  ... and it is quite advanced,” Juan Manuel Santos, Colombia’s president, told the Financial Times. “The studies [the Chinese] have made on the costs of transporting per tonne, the cost of investment, they all work out.”

The mooted rail link is the latest example of China’s increasingly aggressive lending to the developing world, as evidenced by Chinese banks having lent more to developing countries over the past two years than the World Bank.

The 220km “dry canal” would run from the Pacific to a new city near Cartagena where imported Chinese goods would be assembled for re-export throughout the Americas. Colombia-sourced raw materials would make the return journey to China.

“I don’t want to create exaggerated expectations, but it makes a lot of sense,” Mr Santos said. “Asia is the new motor of the world economy.”

Colombia has long dreamt of building an alternative to the Panama Canal. The country is the US’s closest ally in South America, but Bogotá is frustrated by Washington’s stalling over a free-trade agreement signed by both governments four years ago but yet to be ratified by Congress.
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This is what happens when you miss your opportunities...although, with the way things are going, you'd think China would simply wait until they could buy the real thing...

[clearvision]

You would think CA with it's 12% unemployment would be chopping at the bit to bring in these ships, do assembly and ship it out directly to the rest of the US. Oh wait what am I thinking...

[Sabre86]

I'm surprised they're not looking at the Nicaragua Canal instead.

 

Nicaragua really wants to build it and has been seeking investors including Russia and some of the Middle Eastern countries. The plan calls for it to be able to handle basically any ship in the world from U.S. super carriers to ore and bulk carriers over 250,000 tons, to the largest cruise ships.