NEW DELHI: CENTRAL American country Costa Rica has invited the Adani group to explore the possibility of investing in its $12 billion Dry Canal project, which will connect the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.
“Adani group has shown interest in this project, which would involve building two ports—one on the Atlantic and the other on the Pacific. The ports will be connected 315 km by train and highway mainly to move cargo,’’ said Costa Rica’s Ambassador to India Claudio Ansorena.
If this project comes through, a container could be unloaded on one ocean, carried to the other ocean by road/rail and loaded onto a ship within an average of 54 hours. The idea is to facilitate ships avoid the highly congested Panama Canal route, where they often have to wait for longer to pass.
“The Dry Canal project will have the least environmental impact possible, as per Costa Rican laws, while protecting forest lands and allowing passages for animals. The train would have to be electric and all the projects would be powered by renewable energy,’’ Ambassador Ansorena added.
The Dry Canal would ease cargo movement from the east to the west coast of the US and vice versa, saving time, money and cost of transportation.
While there are other sites in Central America and Mexico to built Dry Canals, Costa Rica says it has an edge as it offers the best conditions from a geographical, political and economic point of view.
Meanwhile, the Adani group recently announced plans to build three giga factories for manufacturing solar modules, wind turbines and hydrogen electrolysers as part of its $70 billion investment in clean energy by 2030.
Costa Rica, too, is playing a major role in producing green hydrogen. Its renewable share in its electricity matrix is about 95%. Also, around 52% of the country is covered by forests.
“We were invited by the Adani group to take part in the green talks in Ahmedabad earlier this year. The group indicated they could host the next green talks in Costa Rica. We are also in talks with them on green hydrogen and solar energy,” Ansorena said.