Panama plans to build a "dry canal" due to drought and water shortage?

The Panama Canal has been restricted many times in recent years due to drought and water shortage. The Panamanian government announced the "dry canal" plan on the 10th, using land transportation to ease the pressure on international logistics.

According to Rodolfo Samuda, head of the logistics department of Panama's presidential palace, the project, called the "Multimodal Transport Dry Canal", will use existing roads, railways, port facilities, airports and duty-free areas to implement new "special customs jurisdiction".

The new project "does not require any investment" due to the use of existing infrastructure. Panama's President Laurentino Cortisso previously announced a decree simplifying the relevant land cargo transportation procedures.

Guillermo Salazar, director of Panama's National Institute for Development Planning, said that the "dry canal" is positioned as a "supplement to the Panama Canal" to solve the problems faced by ships passing through the canal.

Frequent water shortages and restrictions on the canal have led to the idea of building alternative routes in many surrounding countries. Mexico announced in December last year that it intends to build a railway connecting the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, and Honduras has also proposed a similar freight railway construction plan. 

巴拿马因干旱缺水计划打造“干运河”？

       巴拿马运河近年来因干旱缺水而多次限行。巴拿马政府10日宣布“干运河”计划，借助陆路运输来缓解国际物流压力。

       据巴拿马总统府物流部门负责人鲁道夫·萨穆达介绍，该项目名为“多式联运干运河”，将利用现有公路、铁路、港口设施、机场和免税区，实施新的“特殊海关管辖”。

       由于使用现有基础设施，新项目“不需要任何投资”。巴拿马总统劳伦蒂诺·科尔蒂索先前宣布一项法令，简化了相关陆路货物运输程序。

       巴拿马国家发展规划研究所所长吉列尔莫·萨拉萨尔说，“干运河”的定位是“巴拿马运河的补充”，以解决运河过往船只面临的问题。

       运河频频缺水限行，使周边多国生出了修建替代路线的想法。墨西哥去年12月宣布打算建一条连接太平洋与大西洋的铁路，洪都拉斯也提出过类似的货运铁路建设计划。