Cost of the Dry Canal Project Building the Dry Canal is not an inexpensive idea. In fact, the total cost of the project has been estimated at around $18 billion.

After a notoriously dry season, Panama Canal authorities put restrictions on cargo ship travel. Shipping companies worry delays will worsen ahead of holidays.

Dry weather is set to force large oil tankers to completely stop using the Panama Canal, requiring the vessels to extend their voyages by thousands of miles, a shipping researcher said.

On Wednesday, Panama officials announced a new Multimodal Dry Canal project that will begin transporting international cargo across a “special customs jurisdiction” near the 110-year-old waterway.

The lake that allows the Panama Canal to function recorded the lowest water level ever for the start of a dry season this year, which means that vastly fewer ships can pass through the canal. The ...