On April 10 Panama announced its plans for a “dry canal” to move cargo between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans due to low water levels in its century-old maritime channel.
A full account by Phys.org, which can be read at https://phys.org/news/2024-04-panama-dry-alternative-drought-canal.html#google_vignette , said “The Panama Canal usually handles about six percent of global maritime trade, but a drought caused by climate change and the El Niño phenomenon has forced authorities to limit the number of ships passing through.”
PhysOrg also noted, “The Multimodal Dry Canal project will use existing roads, railways, port facilities, airports and duty-free zones in a new “special customs jurisdiction,” said Rodolfo Samuda, director of logistics at the ministry of the presidency.
“It will not require any investment thanks to its use of existing infrastructure, he said at the presentation of the project.”
Also, “A decree simplifying procedures for transporting cargo by land across the isthmus has already been declared by President Laurentino Cortizo,” and “The project aims ‘to complement the Panama Canal’ and resolve the problems facing its users…”
The canal is used primarily by the United States, China, Japan and South Korea.
