Panama plans dry alternative to drought-hit canal

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Panama on Wednesday unveiled plans for a "dry canal" to move cargo between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans due to low water levels in its century-old maritime channel.

The Panama Canal usually handles about six percent of global maritime trade, but a drought caused by climate change and the El Niño phenomenon has forced authorities to limit the number of ships passing through.

The Multimodal Dry Canal project will use existing roads, railways, port facilities, airports and duty-free zones in a new "special customs jurisdiction," said Rodolfo Samuda, director of logistics at the ministry of the presidency.

A decree simplifying procedures for transporting cargo by land across the isthmus has already been declared by President Laurentino Cortizo.

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