The Panama Canal has been in the news arguably more frequently over the past month than the previous five years combined. When the world’s most powerful head of office claims he wants the canal returned to the United States, the Panama Canal suddenly becomes a hot search topic. 

Read also: Trump’s Panama Canal Ultimatum Sparks Global Controversy

Yet, regardless of where this Panama Canal tit-for-tat ends, alternatives to the canal are surging in popularity once again. The financing and regulatory hurdles are notable, but a viable alternative to the Panama Canal connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans is of deep interest in an interconnected world with maritime trade increasing by the year. 

One of the earliest musings on a potential connection between the two oceans occurred in 1843. Under Napoleon III, an engineer by the name of Napoléon Garella was dispatched by the French government to study a potential connection in Panama. Robert Ftiz-Roy, the captain of the HMS Beagle that carried Charles Darwin around the globe, also studied the region, ultimately arriving again at Panama as the best alternative. 

While Panama continues to make logistical sense, a handful of proposals are worth exploring. 

Do Viable Alternatives to the Panama Canal Exist? 

The CIIT proposal would cut through southern Mexico, the narrowest part of the country. Of all the options, CIIT might be the most feasible, principally because it would never compete with the Panama Canal in terms of volume. The proposal is an interconnected series of railways spanning from the Port of Coatzacoalcos on the Gulf Coast to the Port of Salina Cruz on the Pacific Coast. 

Cargo transit is projected to move quicker between the two ports compared to the Panama Canal. But the Canal’s volume capacity far outstrips anything a railway could handle. A rudimentary version is already in place, yet significant work remains on the ports and corresponding industrial parks.   

The Dry Canal

First floated in 2016, the Dry Canal is a Costa Rican proposal to connect the Port of Limón on the Caribbean coast with The Guanacaste Port on the Pacific. Spanning 315 kilometers, the canal would expedite transit times to just three hours and completely transform the small Central American economy. 

Proponents point to serious interest from the government of Saudi Arabia. The project is expected to cost between $10 and $15 billion, and multiple meetings have occurred between the two governments. The projected mega-ship carrying capacity would be 16,000 containers per ship. Environmental studies are sure to play a part in this project, as Costa Rica depends heavily on tourism and would need to factor in the impact of a project this size on the country’s natural resources. 

The Nicaraguan Interoceanic Waterway

Nicaragua had historically been considered the only viable alternative to the Panama Canal due to the country’s multiple lakes and potential for interconnected waterways. Stretching an impressive 445 kilometers, the Interoceanic Waterway would bypass the country’s largest lake and instead traverse through northern Nicaragua via Lake Xolotlan near the Pacific Coast and ultimately emptying in Bluefields, a deep-sea port in the Caribbean. 

President Daniel Ortega is reportedly in talks with Chinese investors, and the Chinese company CAMC has already signed a contract to further develop the Bluefields Port facilities. As far back as 1854, the United States considered a joint project with Nicaragua for a canal but ultimately settled on Panama.