AdamSmith Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 Engrossing in-depth look at this megaproject. Land of opportunity – and fear – along route of Nicaragua’s giant new canal In an era of breathtaking engineering feats, there is unease about what this mega project will mean for people and their homes, wildlife and ecosystems. Will it bring wealth and growth or confusion and destruction? http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/20/-sp-nicaragua-canal-land-opportunity-fear-route lookin 1 Quote
Members MsGuy Posted January 21, 2015 Members Posted January 21, 2015 The answer is it won't happen. No wealth, no growth, no destruction, maybe some confusion. lookin 1 Quote
AdamSmith Posted January 21, 2015 Author Posted January 21, 2015 The answer is it won't happen. You don't think? What's the back story? I know nothing about it. And this article clearly had a lot of gaps. Quote
Members MsGuy Posted January 21, 2015 Members Posted January 21, 2015 Best thing to do is google it. Way to much sketchy stuff going on down there than I have the energy to organize in my head. Just for two (and completely disregarding all the odd stuff going on with the proposed canal itself): 1) Only a very small % of the world's shipping won't fit the new Panama Canal lock system set to open late this year or early 2016 which should provide plenty of capacity to cover the next 2 or 3 decades growth in demand. The only result of adding the unneeded capacity in Nicaragua would be a ruinous price war that would bankrupt both canals. 2) All along the Gulf and East coasts, US ports have just spent/are in the process of spending billions of dollars to be able to service the new Panamax size shipping that's been built to take advantage of the new larger locks. It is doubtful, to say the least, that they would be interested in doubling down and investing a like amount to service an entirely hypothetical fleet of Nicaraguamax super ships. PS The new Panamax ships carry roughly 50% more cargo than the old Panamax, dependeing of the type of cargo. That's going to soak up a lot of demand for shipping. AdamSmith 1 Quote
AdamSmith Posted January 21, 2015 Author Posted January 21, 2015 Ah! Thank you. Oddest bit of the article that I linked was, right at the end, it started to ask just who and what is this entity from China that has the contract to build the Nicaragua canal. And then abruptly the article ended. Just like a Chinese Internet session going dead! (Which I had happen to me more than once during that trip in Shanghai that I mentioned elsewhere.) I will consult the Googles as you advise. Quote
Members RA1 Posted January 21, 2015 Members Posted January 21, 2015 What is the modern equivalent of chicken feathers and oil one must use to "consult the Googles"? Best regards, RA1 AdamSmith and MsGuy 2 Quote
AdamSmith Posted January 21, 2015 Author Posted January 21, 2015 the modern equivalent of chicken feathers and oil An extraordinarily apt image for any Windows-based PC! Quote
AdamSmith Posted January 21, 2015 Author Posted January 21, 2015 So Costa Rican and other sources speculate one motivation of many may be Ortega's interests in deflecting attention from economic etc problems under his regime. Wikipedia says, among much else: HKND does not have any civil engineering expertise and has been accused of being a front for the Chinese government, which they deny. HKND seems not to have secured the capital needed for the project and is now asking for the land to be given to them on a 50 year credit or lease. Many things to make you go Hmm. As you said, MsGuy. Quote
Members MsGuy Posted January 28, 2015 Members Posted January 28, 2015 Here's an article on the impact of the new Panama Canal with a sidebar on Nicaragua's proposed sea level project. Quote
Guest callipygian Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 An extraordinarily apt image for any Windows-based PC! Good News, Adam Smith! Windows 10 is just around the corner a black box recovery away for you! Quote
AdamSmith Posted January 28, 2015 Author Posted January 28, 2015 Here's an article on the impact of the new Panama Canal with a sidebar on Nicaragua's proposed sea level project. Thank you! The most amazing bit to me was this: Contractors here and in the United States say that the expansion project also can be seen as a global model of astute construction management. The opening of the expanded canal is expected to cost under $US 6 billion, just 10 percent more than the original $US 5.25 billion price tag. Its commercial opening, now projected to occur in the spring of 2016, comes a year later than anticipated. In contrast, the construction of the $US 3 billion Olmsted Locks and Dam on the Ohio River, the largest inland navigation project in the United States, is more than $US 2 billion over budget and decades late in opening. Part of my consulting biz relates to the giant engineering/construction firms, and these cost and schedule overruns are just astoundingly small for a project of this scale. Quote
Guest callipygian Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 Construction management, the government, and the people, once was, but is no longer, synonymous with it's original success and trust. Quote
AdamSmith Posted January 28, 2015 Author Posted January 28, 2015 Construction management, the government, and the people, once was, but is no longer, synonymous with it's original success and trust. Or, as that article says in a sidebar about the challenges facing the Nicaragua canal project... Lastly, marine environmental organizations warn that a sea-level canal would enable poisonous Pacific sea snakes to migrate into the Caribbean, threatening the region’s beach-based recreation and tourism industry. Quote
AdamSmith Posted January 28, 2015 Author Posted January 28, 2015 P.S. Thanks also, MsGuy, for the general pointer to that web site/org, Circle of Blue. Quote
Members MsGuy Posted January 29, 2015 Members Posted January 29, 2015 Glad to be of service, AS. You should register and make some astute comments on some of its articles. Who knows, maybe you'll catch a project manager's attention and weasel a consult or two. Just don't forget who steered you there when the big checks start rolling in. Hmmm...how much is a consultant's cut on a multi billion dollar build? Inclusive of cost over-runs, I mean. AdamSmith 1 Quote
Guest callipygian Posted January 29, 2015 Posted January 29, 2015 It's always horrible, to find, that you're really mentally retarded my eyes are so blurred here right now that I am not responsible for what follows....... yet, I am responsible OMG Quote
AdamSmith Posted January 29, 2015 Author Posted January 29, 2015 Hmmm...how much is a consultant's cut on a multi billion dollar build? Inclusive of cost over-runs, I mean. About what you'd expect. How it starts out... ...what it looks like by the time it gets to me: MsGuy 1 Quote
Members MsGuy Posted January 29, 2015 Members Posted January 29, 2015 Well bless your heart, Callipygian, you know we'll always make room for you here. AdamSmith 1 Quote
Guest callipygian Posted January 29, 2015 Posted January 29, 2015 Well bless your heart, Callipygian, you know we'll always make room for you here. If you want to get cunty with me, you'll need to have bought a ticket. Oh wait... Quote
Guest callipygian Posted January 29, 2015 Posted January 29, 2015 People who put people into wheelchairs for, less than, humor, should be slaughtered. Quote
Members MsGuy Posted January 29, 2015 Members Posted January 29, 2015 About what you'd expect. Doesn't look too tasty. Have you tried earmarking some of your fees for kickbacks? That has a way of loosing up the faucet. Quote
AdamSmith Posted January 29, 2015 Author Posted January 29, 2015 Doesn't look too tasty. Have you tried earmarking some of your fees for kickbacks? That has a way of loosing up the faucet. Regrettably I lack the price of entry. Ain't cheap to play at that level, and it's pay-to-play. Quote
Members MsGuy Posted January 29, 2015 Members Posted January 29, 2015 People who put people into wheelchairs for, less than, humor, should be slaughtered. OMG I didn't even notice that was a wheel chair the guy was sitting in. My bad, I apologize. Here, I'll get you a nice new hat...and you get to choose the color all on your own! Feel better now? AdamSmith 1 Quote
