NICARAGUA: INTEROCEANIC CANAL PROPOSALS MIRED IN

UNCLAS MANAGUA 002584 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECIN EIND ELTN EWWT NU SUBJECT: NICARAGUA: INTEROCEANIC CANAL PROPOSALS MIRED IN POLITICS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. ¶1. (SBU) Summary: In early October, President Bolanos unveiled the "Grand Interoceanic Canal for Nicaragua (GNIC)" project, a proposed $18 billion, 172-mile long, trans-isthmus "wet canal." The GNIC will compete with three more modest "dry canal" proposals also under consideration. The most advanced of the four projects is Canal Interoceanico de Nicaragua (CINN),which proposes a trans-isthmus railroad or "dry canal." CINN completed its feasibility study in 2003 and plans to begin an environmental impact study in the coming year. SIT Global also proposes a trans-isthmus railroad with an oil pipeline and fiber optic cable that would run parallel to the rail line. While it has not yet completed a feasibility study, SIT Global has announced its plans to begin an evironmental impact study. The Eco-Canal, proposed by the GON in 2004, would be a combination "wet and dry" barge canal. President-elect Daniel Ortega has supported the idea of a "dry canal," first backing the 1997 SIT Global proposal and more recently backing the CINN proposal. With the Bolanos presidential term ending in January 2007 and the "wet canal" sporting an enormous price tag, a "dry canal" would appear more likely to receive government approval. End Summary. "The Grand Interoceanic Canal for Nicaragua" -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In early October, President Bolanos unveiled the "Grand Interoceanic Canal for Nicaragua (GNIC)" project, a proposed $18 billion, 172-mile long, trans-isthmus "wet canal." The GNIC idea has been around since 1999, but was revived in October 2006 when Bolanos presented the project at the Defense Ministers of the Americas conference. The most-favored route of the proposed "wet canal" would pass through five rivers and Lake Nicaragua, beginning at Bluefields Bay on the Atlantic coast and ending in Brito on the Pacific coast. Environmental critics of the GNIC worry that any oil spillage in Lake Nicaragua would destroy the ecosystem. Members of the government-appointed GNIC Commission include Mario Alonso Icabalcete (former-President of the Central Bank),Arturo Harding (Minister of Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA)),and Alejandro Arguello (Minister of Trade and Commerce). Bolanos has not provided a timeline for moving the project forward and admitted that the project is in its "infancy." Diplomats who received the proposal expressed skepticism about the plan, questioning the timing of the proposal, coming just months before Bolanos' term ends and weeks before a referendum in Panama on expanding its canal. Ironically, (or perhaps calculatedly) the splash made by Bolanos may have encouraged Panamanian support for its then-struggling referendum, which passed without difficulty on October 22. CINN: The "Dry Canal" -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Bolanos was not the first to propose an interoceanic canal for Nicaragua, but his proposal is the most ambitious and must compete with three more modest proposals to build a "dry canal." Canal Interoceanico de Nicaragua (CINN), founded in 1994, is the most advanced of the four projects. It proposes a $2.6 billion railroad from Monkey Point on the Atlantic coast to El Gigante on the Pacific coast, linking deepwater container ports built for the project, and creating free trade zones. The National Assembly granted a 40 year concession to CINN in 2001 and the company completed a feasibility study in 2003. CINN has complained, however, that the Bolanos government has purposefully impeded its progress since 2003 by not issuing the necessary permits to begin an environmental impact statement. CINN reportedly has financial backing from Hong Kong, Taiwanese, Japanese, and Chinese investors and would compete with U.S. west coast railroads to transport Asian goods to the U.S. east coast. CINN, led by a U.S. investor, claims to have the support of President-elect Daniel Ortega. After the November 5 presidential election, CINN sponsored a full-page advertisement in a local newspaper extending congratulations to Ortega. The general manager of CINN, Francisco D'Escoto Brockman is the former Sandinista Ambassador to the United Kingdom and currently occupies a home that was expropriated from a U.S. citizen during the Sandinista regime. SIT GLOBAL: The Other "Dry Canal" -------------- ¶4. (SBU) SIT Global proposes a $4 billion trans-isthmus railraod running from Monkey Point on the Atlantic coast to Corinto on the Pacific coast. An oil pipeline and fiber optic cable would run parallel to the rail line, using the same right-of-way. CINN has accused President Bolanos of "stealing" its "classified" plans, which were presented to Bolanos in 1995 when he was then Vice-President, and giving them to his son Enrique, who created SIT Global in 1997. CINN's accusations have never been proven and Enrique Bolanos filed libel charges against CINN in 1998. (Note: The charges were dismissed by a judge, who resigned his position on the day of the ruling. End Note.) SIT Global is backed by Bayardo Arce (a high-ranking Sandinista Liberation Front (FSLN) official and businessman) and claims to have the support of private Canadian oil and telecommunications companies. President-elect Ortega supported SIT Global in 1997, but switched to CINN in 2003 for unknown reasons. SIT Global has not undertaken a feasibility study, but has announced its plans to begin an environmental impact study, despite not having the necessary permits. Eco-Canal: Still in the Running -------------- ¶5. (U) The Eco-Canal, proposed by the GON in 2004, would be a combination "wet and dry" canal. A barge canal would run from San Juan del Norte on the Atlantic coast to Granada, via the San Juan River and Lake Nicaragua. Ground transportation from Granada to the Pacific coast would complete the trans-isthmus route. In 2004, GON officials invited the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to conduct a feasibility study for the Eco-Canal. While USACE officials met with the GON, discussions concluded with no plans for further USG involvement. Costa Rican officials have publicly stated that they will not allow the San Juan River, which forms 37 miles of the Nicarguan and Costa Rican border, to undergo the necessary dredging for a canal. They believe that dredging would harm the ecosystem and threaten their burgeoning eco-tourism industry. Despite this obstacle, the GON still cites the Eco-Canal as a possibility. ¶6. (SBU) Comment: The four interoceanic canal projects tell a story of competing interests vying for funding and political support. Bolanos' "wet canal" proposal seemed only to focus attention on the perhaps more realistic "dry canals" currently struggling to find political champions to move their projects forward. CINN has met strong resistance from MARENA, which has blocked the issuance of environmental permits for almost three years. Notably, the Minister of MARENA sits on the GNIC commission and has publicly supported the "wet canal." SIT Global contends that it would complement a "wet canal" by offering the added benefit of an oil pipeline and fiber optic cable, however, it has struggled financially. President-elect Ortega stated on November 11 that he is reviewing all the canal proposals, but noted that the "wet canal" would create more jobs. Historically, Ortega has favored the idea of a "dry canal," first backing the 1997 SIT Global proposal and then backing the CINN proposal in ¶2003. CINN may win Ortega's full blessing, but such a benediction depends on whether the firm can successfully navigate the political waters of the new administration. End Comment. TRIVELLI