Royal HaskoningDHV and Ecorys are to carry out thestudy which is costing $720,000 and is due to be completed early 2013.
The canal will cater for larger ships than thePanama Canal and will be Central America’s second main waterway, the consortiumsays.
Engineers will examine the technical, financial and economic feasibility ofbuilding the canal, with special attention to water management andenvironmental impact.
Thestudy embraces such matters as the required dredging, the conceptual design ofthe canal and locks and opportunities for ecological offsetting.
