NEW DELHI: Costa Rica has been pursuing India’s largest port developer and operator, the Adani Group, to build a dry canal in their country.
They have been trying to pursue Adani for over a year now and officials from the Costa Rica government have been in touch with the group. In the recently concluded World Economic Forum in Davos, the opportunity that the Central American country was waiting for finally happened as Costa Rica’s President Rodrigo Chaves Robles had a chance to meet Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani in person.
"We don’t have all details of the meeting, but what is aware is that Adani did show interest in the Dry Canal project. There was talk of the possibility of Adani making a trip to Costa Rica this year, but no details are available yet,’’ said sources.
The Dry Canal project, if it gets an investor like Adani, will convert Costa Rica into a logistics hub. The New Indian Express first reported about the Dry Canal project and Costa Rica's pursuing of Adani to invest in the $12 billion project on 7th October 2022.
"This project will connect the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. If things work out the way we are anticipating – it would involve the construction of two ports – one on the Atlantic and the other on the Pacific. The ports include a 315 km train and highway route that would be used to transport cargo," said Ambassador of Costa Rica to India, Claudio Ansorena.
Once this Dry Canal project is built, a cargo container could be unloaded on the Atlantic Ocean and carried through the land route to reach the Pacific Ocean in approximately 54 hours. At present, it takes over a few weeks as the Panama Canal route is congested and there is a long wait.
If Adani does make a trip down to the Central American nation – it would reflect clearly on the interest the company has in the project and also raise hopes of a possible investment. Until then, one would have to wait and watch.