# Could UAE build their own canal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 4, 2026, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-uae-build-their-own-canal/1029785 "2026-05-04T21:22:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2026, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-uae-build-their-own-canal/1029785/21 "2026-05-05T18:08:34Z")
Agree w your overall point. Whole lotta impracticality in a UAE canal. As to this bit specifically: > [@md-2000](#): > > the Panama canal has a conveneint rainforest to supply this water (although at one point a drought threatened its capacity). The original 1914 Panamá canal lock system was total-loss. The rainforest lake water filled the locks and at each lowering that water moved towards the sea to be lost forever. The **[Panama Canal expansion project - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal_expansion_project)** that opened in 2016 changed all that. The old locks still work the old way, but the new locks reuse the same water over and over. Vastly reducing the amount of rainforest / lake water that is dumped to sea. At the expense of needing big pumps and electricity, but both those things are more plentiful now than in 1914 while lake water is less so. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2026, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-uae-build-their-own-canal/1029785/22 "2026-05-05T18:31:01Z")
Wouldn’t the pipelines be very vulnerable to drone/missile attack, unless they were placed underground at prohibitive cost? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2026, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-uae-build-their-own-canal/1029785/23 "2026-05-05T18:38:03Z")
Cost of Canal vs. even underground pipelines? You do the math. In other words, no. ---
**Author:** ![Saffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saffer/32/6440_2.png) [@Saffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saffer)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-uae-build-their-own-canal/1029785/24 "2026-05-06T04:52:14Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > with all the money the UAE seems to have (Dubai) Dubai is not where the money is. That would be Abu Dhabi. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-uae-build-their-own-canal/1029785/25 "2026-05-06T06:30:43Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The original 1914 Panamá canal lock system was total-loss. The rainforest lake water filled the locks and at each lowering that water moved towards the sea to be lost forever. > > The **[Panama Canal expansion project - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal_expansion_project)** that opened in 2016 changed all that. The old locks still work the old way, but the new locks reuse the same water over and over. Vastly reducing the amount of rainforest / lake water that is dumped to sea. At the expense of needing big pumps and electricity, but both those things are more plentiful now than in 1914 while lake water is less so. Interesting. I’ve learned my one new thing for the day. The problem still includes how to find enough water to fill the locks without filling the ground around with salt water. Plus, I wonder how “water-tight” the terrain is, that the water doesn’t just soak away if much of the terrain is sand, meaning a lot of concrete lining. Then there’s the issue of scale and volume. One critique of the Panama is that it is too small for modern container and tanker ships, so the scale of the “Oman Canal” would be massive. And depending on how much altitude is needed - the Panama is only 26m up and down. Constantly pumping enough water to fill a 100km tanker canal and locks to go to 100m and allow for other water losses would be a major effort. (I imagine a giant reservoir in the mountans nearby constantly being filled for this) And if we’re worried about security of pipelines across central Saudi Arabia, how much more at risk is the massive infrastructure of electrical supply and water pumps for a much closer canal? ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-uae-build-their-own-canal/1029785/26 "2026-05-06T06:31:21Z")
> [@Saffer](#): > > Dubai is not where the money is. That would be Abu Dhabi. I dunno. Dubai looked pretty well off too. ---
**Author:** ![Saffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saffer/32/6440_2.png) [@Saffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saffer)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-uae-build-their-own-canal/1029785/27 "2026-05-06T06:33:26Z")
Abu Dhabi has all the oil. Dubai hardly has any oil. During the financial crisis, Dubai had to be bailed out by Abu Dhabi. Dubai is certainly the glitzy one though. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-uae-build-their-own-canal/1029785/28 "2026-05-06T09:52:26Z")
Dubai is built on other peoples money. It has essentially zero oil. But very smart rulers. The model is basically - build Singapore in Dubai. Build up a commerce, shipping, and air travel hub in a strategic location by making it very attractive to investors. And so far, with a serious bump during the GFC, it has played out. Perhaps the real miracle is selling luxury living and tourism. A luxury apartment or villa somewhere that reaches 50C+ with mind numbing humidity is not the first thing you would guess would sell. Certain countries provide ex-pats that are happy to buy in. So it is currently working. Emirates airlines is a top tier carrier based on Dubai as a near perfect hub location for a lot of long haul routes. They have more Airbus A380s than the rest of the worlds airlines combined. Dubai airport is one of the world’s largest and construction is about to start on its replacement. Abu Dhabi has most of the oil in the UAE. The United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven emirates. Where _emirate_ can be translated as _principality_. Each is a sovereign state. Each has its own ruler. Federation came late, but was important as it created a clear internationally recognised country covering the area. There is no federal government in the manner we think of them. Dubai is only going to get into the canal business if there are investment opportunities for local companies. They don’t need one, and don’t directly have the money. Abu Dhabi both might need one, and have the money. A canal would need to cross some of the other 5 emirates. Sharjah and Fujairah in particular. So they will have significant say. Dubai might be a good start for the Gulf end. But in the end Abu Dhabi is the beneficiary. ---
**Author:** ![Humbagger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/db5fbb/32.png) [@Humbagger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Humbagger)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-uae-build-their-own-canal/1029785/29 "2026-05-06T10:04:32Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > It’s an insurance policy. You look at this the same as you look at other insurance, not if you can make a profit on it. I would say that looking at insurance is not much different than looking at profit for investment. If the cost of the insurance is much higher than any profit or compensation of damages you can draw from it, the insurance is not a worthwile investment. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-uae-build-their-own-canal/1029785/30 "2026-05-06T13:03:29Z")
> [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > Perhaps the real miracle is selling luxury living and tourism. Definitely. Fun trivia… We went on a zodiac tour of the harbour area, the guide pointed out the Atlantis Hotel at the Apex of the Palm - the room above the arch allegedly goes for $76,000 a night. The guide mentioned that Michael Jackson had stayed there. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-uae-build-their-own-canal/1029785/31 "2026-05-06T22:09:49Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > One critique of the Panama is that it is too small for modern container and tanker ships, The Panamá expansion project I cited greatly increased the dimensional limits of ships that can transit the canal. No, not the larger supertankers, but a hefty majority of modern container ships. See **[Panamax - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panamax#)** for more about the size limits of not only the Panamá canal, but the other major canals and straits & shallows that are chokepoints to modern ship commerce. As to your overall thesis … I fully agree that for sure, a Hormuz-bypassing canal across that terrain in that climate with that soil is a wacky idea that doesn’t pass the laugh test. But it’s sure fun to enumerate all the ways it won’t work. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-uae-build-their-own-canal/1029785/32 "2026-05-08T01:35:28Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > But it’s sure fun to enumerate all the ways it won’t work. Could be worse. I saw something else online where someone suggested a canal connecting the Gulf to the Caspian and then to Black Sea, which has even more terrain and water supply problems. Obviously, just drawing lines on a map. Canals going through the ski hills north of Tehran and past the ski hills at Sochi? With modern tankers, that would define “Challenging”. …ignoring the political issues of Iran, Azerbaijan, Geogia, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-uae-build-their-own-canal/1029785/33 "2026-05-08T09:21:26Z")
Oh, so they won’t give control of a pipeline to Israel, but they _will_ give it to Russia? Geniuses. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-uae-build-their-own-canal/1029785.md?page=1)