Cargo Business Newswire

Monday, January 13, 2014

$41B Nicaraguan canal construction to begin in late 2014

Nicaragua's President Manuel Ortega announced that construction on the planned $41 billion Nicaraguan inter-oceanic canal, which might be a global trade game changer, will start in December 2014.

"The Nicaraguan government and HKND Group are pleased to confirm that canal construction work will begin as planned in December 2014," said President Manuel Ortega on Saturday and Chinese businessman Wang Jing in a statement. Wang Jing's group, the Beijing Interoceanic Canal Investment Management Co., will dig and ultimately run the waterway.

Ortega awarded the Chinese group the rights to manage the future shipping channel for 50 years, with the possibility to renew the contract for another 50.

The gargantuan $41 billion undertaking would connect the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans to create a canal that would compete for business with the expanded Panama Canal. The project includes an oil pipeline, an overland route, two deep-water ports, two airports and duty-free zones.

Feasibility studies for the massive project are underway, but it is not yet known how the prospective canal might be built in mechanical and logistical terms.

For more of The Nation story: nation.com.pk