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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Nicaragua announces start of China-backed canal |
| 2014-12-27 |
| Nicaragua has announced the start of work on a $50 billion shipping canal, an infrastructure project backed by China that aims to rival Panama's waterway and revitalise the economy of the second-poorest country in the Americas. The groundbreaking was largely symbolic, as work began on a road designed to accommodate machinery needed to build a port for the canal on the Central American country's Pacific coast. Nicaragua's government says the proposed 172-mile canal, due to be operational by around 2020, would raise annual economic growth to more than 10 per cent. The canal could also give China a major foothold in Central America, a region long dominated by the United States, which completed the Panama Canal a century ago. Construction of the new waterway will be run by Hong Kong-based HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co Ltd (HKND Group), which is controlled by Wang Jing, a little-known Chinese telecom mogul well connected to China's political elite. Flanked by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, who is a By the end of the third quarter, excavation work would begin, with a tender for the design of the locks due by the end of the year, he said. More than a year since it was first announced, the project faces widespread scepticism, with questions still open about who will provide financing, how seriously it will affect Lake Nicaragua and how much land will be expropriated for it. "Given how much this will cost, it's hard to take a stance on whether it will happen or not until there is a signal whether that money is available or not," said Greg Miller at consultancy IHS Maritime. Earlier, Nicaraguan presidential spokesman Paul Oquist said feasibility studies, including a McKinsey report that experts say will define interest in financing the canal, had been delayed by changes to the route and would be ready by April. Oquist said the "core financing" would come from public and private Chinese money, without giving a percentage. But he added that Nicaragua is seeking international funding and rejected the idea that China will bankroll the project worth roughly four times Nicaraguan gross domestic product. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #11 This will be an unmitigated disaster---environmentally, economically, and in construction. Plus being exposed on the route to active faults. It will only be completed if the Chinese govt funds it and it's future massive cost overruns. A great partnership---the Chinese govt and Daniel Ortega. A match made in hell on the backs of the Nicaraguan people. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2014-12-27 21:56 |
| #10 No environmental groups protesting this. How.... FIFY Mr. Spook |
| Posted by: AlanC 2014-12-27 19:10 |
| #9 No environmental groups protesting this. How.... convenient. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2014-12-27 16:36 |
| #8 so much for freshwater Lake Neekarawgwah /Dan Rather |
| Posted by: Frank G 2014-12-27 12:14 |
| #7 Never mind, locks mentioned There are locks on the St Lawrence Seaway, didn't stop invasive species from making an appearance. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2014-12-27 09:34 |
| #6 You see those islands in Lake Nicaagua? Those are volcanos. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2014-12-27 09:19 |
| #5 IIRC the Nicaragua canal route was the original first choice but for political reasons Panama was chosen. And it has been planned as a 'sea-level' route for something like 50 years. Also IIRC, the route is exactly along a major San Andreas-style fault zone. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2014-12-27 09:11 |
| #4 Shipman,it would be fun if they went "Operation Plowshare" route to build a sea-level canal. |
| Posted by: Chuckles Shatle5927 2014-12-27 08:31 |
| #3 The FLA has evidently developed an amphibious capability. Never mind, locks mentioned |
| Posted by: Shipman 2014-12-27 06:22 |
| #2 Nicaraguans repor do not trust their Govt. to replace their lands + jobs wid ones that are par or better that those that will be lost wid this project. Well gosh Joe, if you can't trust Danny Ortega and Wang Jing..... |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-12-27 03:09 |
| #1 As like China's THREE GORGES project + its planned more massive follow-on, there are many concerns about how this Canal will affect Nicaragua's only freshwater lake + villages which depend on it for their sustenance. Many poor or low-income Nicaraguans repor do not trust their Govt. to replace their lands + jobs wid ones that are par or better that those that will be lost wid this project. FYI there are Perts whom believe that Three Gorges is responsible for the mysterious draining of various lakes-n-seas outside of China proper. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2014-12-27 00:24 |