News / Shipping industry reveals its scepticism over '$100bn' Nicaraguan canal project

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Nicaragua’s ambitious plans to build a rival to the Panama Canal are likely to cost almost double the estimated $40bn, according to experts at the TOC Americas conference in Cartagena.

“From my early estimates, I think it would be more likely to cost between $65bn and $70bn,” said Rodolfo Sabonge, founder of Logitrans Advisory Services and former head of planning and marketing at the Panama Canal Authority.

He has been following announcements from Nicaragua closely and sees little financial logic in the ...