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China's Proposed Colombia Railway: Challenging the Panama Canal
China plans Colombian rail link to challenge Panama canal | World news | The Guardian
The 'dry canal' would link Colombia's Atlantic and Pacific coasts by rail, according to Juan Manuel Santos, the president of Colombia.
"It's a real proposal... and it is quite advanced," he told The Financial Times. "I don't want to create exaggerated expectations, but it makes a lot of sense."
The project is one of several Chinese proposals designed to help boost transport links between the two continents.
It is also hoped the rail link would help encourage the US to ratify a four-year-old free-trade agreement. Agreements with Colombia and Panama, which would eliminate most tariffs for both countries, have stalled since they were signed in 2006 and 2007.
The Panama canal represents roughly 5 percent of world trade, with 13,000 to 14,000 ships passing through it every year.
Sino-Colombian trade stood at more than $5 billion in 2010, making China Colombia's biggest trade partner, after the US.
"Colombia has a very important strategic position, and we view the ocuntry as a port to the rest of Latin America," Gao Zhengyue, China's ambassador to Colombia, told the newspaper.
The report also said talks are most advanced over a 491 mile railway and expansion of the port of Buenaventura.
The £4.7 billion project is funded by the Chinese Development Bank and operated by China Railway Group.
China plans Colombian rail link to challenge Panama canal | World news | The Guardian
The 'dry canal' would link Colombia's Atlantic and Pacific coasts by rail, according to Juan Manuel Santos, the president of Colombia.
"It's a real proposal... and it is quite advanced," he told The Financial Times. "I don't want to create exaggerated expectations, but it makes a lot of sense."
The project is one of several Chinese proposals designed to help boost transport links between the two continents.
It is also hoped the rail link would help encourage the US to ratify a four-year-old free-trade agreement. Agreements with Colombia and Panama, which would eliminate most tariffs for both countries, have stalled since they were signed in 2006 and 2007.
The Panama canal represents roughly 5 percent of world trade, with 13,000 to 14,000 ships passing through it every year.
Sino-Colombian trade stood at more than $5 billion in 2010, making China Colombia's biggest trade partner, after the US.
"Colombia has a very important strategic position, and we view the ocuntry as a port to the rest of Latin America," Gao Zhengyue, China's ambassador to Colombia, told the newspaper.
The report also said talks are most advanced over a 491 mile railway and expansion of the port of Buenaventura.
The £4.7 billion project is funded by the Chinese Development Bank and operated by China Railway Group.
