Nicaragua: The Chinese inter-ocean canal project

En bref 05-05-2015

On 22 December 2014, the controversial construction of a shipping route across Nicaragua to connect the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean was officially launched. With an estimated cost of US$40 to US$50 billion, the Nicaragua inter-ocean canal project could be the biggest-ever infrastructure investment in Latin America's history. The canal will be built by the Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development Group (HKND) and is scheduled to be operational by 2020. Opposition to the future waterway is mounting, however, as there are doubts whether the project's calculated economic gains will outweigh the potential adverse environmental and social implications.