excess expenses. Competitive projects Nicaragua canal On July 7, 2014, Wang Jing, chairman of the HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co. Ltd. (HKND Group) advised that a route for Nicaragua's proposed canal had been approved. The construction work was projected by HKND to begin in 2014 and take 5 years, although there had been little progress before the project's abandonment. The Nicaraguan parliament approved plans for the canal through Nicaragua and according to the deal, the company would have been responsible for operating and maintaining the canal for a 50-year period. By May 2017, no concrete action had been reportedly taken constructing the canal and further doubts were expressed about its financing. In February 2018, analysts widely viewed the project as defunct, though the head of the project insisted work was on-going and HKND retained the legal rights to the concession for the canal as well as side projects. Despite HKND vanishing in April 2018, the Nicaraguan government indicates that it will continue with the 908 km2 (351 sq mi) dry land expropriations within Nicaragua, under land expropriation Canal Law 840. Colombia rail link In 2011, Colombia's then-president Juan Manuel Santos announced a proposal for a railway between Colombia's Pacific and Caribbean coasts. However, in 2015 the director of the Colombia-China Chamber of Commerce said the proposal "was mentioned in 2011 and subsequently had minimal relevance". Northwest Passage Climate change has thinned much of the ice that in the past made this route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans impassable. Satellite navigation can help monitor location of the ice which remains, further easing transit. A few ships have successfully crossed the previously impossible route since 2000. Other projects Individuals, companies, and governments have explored the possibility of constructing deep water ports and rail links connecting coasts as a "dry canal" in Guatemala, Costa Rica, and El Salvador/Honduras. However, plans to construct these sea-rail-sea links have yet to materialize. Another option could have been the Ferrocarril Transístmico in Mexico if implemented for ships. Master Key to Panama Canal and Honorary Pilots During the last one hundred years, the Panama Canal Authority has granted membership in the "Esteemed Order of Bearers of the Master Key of the Panama Canal" and appointed a few "Honorary Lead Pilots" to employees, captains and dignitaries. One of the most recent of these were U.S. Federal Maritime Commissioner, Louis Sola, who was awarded for his work for