China and Colombia announce 'alternative Panama Canal'

[Bacchus39]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4732553

cross posted from LBN

The proposed transport route is intended to promote the flow of goods between Asia and Latin America.

The plan is to create a "dry canal" where the Pacific port of Buenaventura would be linked by rail, across Colombia, to the Atlantic Coast.

Trade between Colombia and China has increased from $10m in 1980 to more than $5bn last year.

The announcement came from the Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos, who told the Financial Times that the project was "a real proposal... and it is quite advanced".