The canal will have the capacity to handle the “world’s largest ships” according to an HKND spokesman, and will accommodate increases in US-Asia trade. According to company projections, tonnage volumes potentially transiting the new canal could increase 240%, and the total value of goods transiting both Nicaragua and Panama canals could exceed $1.4tn, by 2030. As such, HKND predicts, a new South American canal route would not only be desirable but necessary, with the Panama Canal alone suffering major congestion.
HKND cites the potential fuel savings for shipowners on Asia-US or US-Asia routes, cutting out 4,000km from Suez routes and 7,500km for the journey around the Cape of Good Hope, amounting to $110/teu and $327/teu respectively for the largest ships.
"This transformational project that has the potential to bring tremendous, long-term economic benefits to Nicaragua, to the region, and to international shippers and consumers around the world,” said HKND chairman Wang Jing. “It is very early in a long process, and we have a lot of work ahead, but we want to be clear that we intend this to be a world-class effort that creates economic opportunity, serves the global trade community, and also protects the local environment, heritage, and culture of Nicaragua.
“We believe Nicaragua provides the perfect location for a new international shipping and logistics hub. Global shipping demands the efficiency and cost competitiveness of increasingly larger ships, and we believe this project will serve that still-unmet need.”
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