Page 139 - How It Works - Book Of Amazing Answers To Curious Questions, Volume 05-15

Transport

Reusable water
60 per cent of the water
drained from each new
chamber will be reused,
making the new locks
much more effi cient and Deeper channels
eco-friendly. Extensive dredging of
the current canal will
make it signifi cantly
deeper, helping it to Competition for Panama?
accommodate much
larger vessels.
The Panama Canal is starting to face fi erce The Suez is not the only canal trying to get in on
competition from around the world. Egyptian the action; there is likely to be a new contender in
president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi announced plans to the coming years. One Chinese entrepreneur has
add an extra lane to the Suez Canal, which runs announced plans for a £33 billion ($50 billion)
through Egypt to connect the Mediterranean Sea Nicaragua Grand Canal, which would connect the
with the Red Sea, in 2014. It was completed in a Atlantic to the Pacific through Lake Nicaragua. This

third of the originally estimated time and has canal would be 278 kilometres (173 miles) long and
allowed two-way traffic, doubling the canal’s able to accommodate some of the biggest ships in

capacity to an average of 97 ships each the world, carrying enormous containers.
day. It has also slashed transit time Construction is planned to take five years, but at

almost in half, from 18 hours to 11. the time of writing it has not yet started.

Fast transit time
The canal is 82 kilometres (51
miles) long, and allows ships to go
from the Atlantic to the Pacifi c in
just over eight hours.

Global significance
Roughly three per cent of world maritime

commerce flows through Panama
Canal, which will no doubt rise
when the new locks open.

Wider locks
The new locks will be 55
metres (180 feet) wide,
allowing the gigantic
Post-Panamax ships through
the canal.

Excellent safety
There have only been 38 shipping
accidents reported since 2002, an average
of one per 4,000 voyages via the canal. © Sol90

How It Works 139