Honduras, El Salvador Agree to Road ‘Canal’

Long-dueling neighbors Honduras and El Salvador put their differences aside and agreed to build a “dry canal” highway to compete with the Panama Canal, officials said. Salvadoran and Honduran business leaders signed an accord to construct a $1-billion dry canal connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans with highways running between two ports. Honduran President Carlos Reina and Salvadoran President Armando Calderon Sol pledged to support the project and allow private firms to build it. The Panama Canal is seen having major congestion problems by 2010, and clients have complained that delays are already on the rise as the canal moves closer to capacity. Calderon said the Central America route would be a cheaper and quicker option for moving cargo than the Panama Canal. Nicaragua and Mexico have separately talked of developing their own railway routes crossing the isthmus.