Jun 5, 2015:
On May 31, 2015, the completed Environmental and Social Impact Assessment prepared by Environmental Resources Management was presented to Nicaraguan authorities.
Nicaragua Says Study Finds Canal 'Viable'; No Details Public | ABC News
Mar 18, 2015:
Wang Jing, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of HKND Group, was interviewed by the BBC.
Wang Jing: The man behind the Nicaragua canal project | BBC
Dec 23, 2014:
In June of 2013, the Nicaragua National Assembly approved a plan to give the Chinese company HKND (Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development) Group exclusive rights to build a canal across Nicaragua. Two days ago, work officially began on the project. If all goes as planned, the project will be completed in 2020. The total cost of the project is estimated at $40-$50 billion.
The canal is intended to provide the same function as the Panama canal, allowing ships to pass between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans without having to make the long voyage around the southern tip of South America.
In 2007, work began on a Panama Canal Expansion project, which is expected to double the capacity of the existing Panama canal and be completed in 2016. Even with this increased capacity, according to the HKND (Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development) Group website, the increasing demand for larger-capacity ships along with growth in global maritime trade and growth in global trade in general makes a second canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans feasible.
The Nicaragua canal project is highly controversial. Some say it's a boondoggle (wasteful, impractical, pointless, only seemingly valuable), or a "white elephant" (too costly and too much trouble for the potential value it might provide). Others say it will provide thousands of jobs and be a huge economic boost to Nicaragua.
Other concerns:
- the expansion of the Panama canal may in fact be enough to meet future demand, making construction of a canal through Nicaragua unnecessary
- the displacement and disruption of everyone living in the path of the approximately 175-mile canal
- the canal will run through Lake Nicaragua (Nicaragua's primary source of fresh water) and result in the destruction of nearly one million acres of wetlands and rain forests
- no other companies bid on the project
- whether HKND has the experience and expertise to conduct and follow through on a project of this magnitude and duration
- evidence that HKND has had trouble in the past with projects conducted outside of China (Spotty record for Chinese executive Wang Jing with Nicaragua canal dream | South China Morning Post)
- HKND has carte blanche (permission to do whatever it wants) as far as geographic canal placement and acquisition of land
- the company designated to conduct the environmental and social impact study, Environmental Resources Management, was selected by HKND (who stands to reap incredible profits), not by the Nicaraguan government
Source:
HKND Group. HKND Group. Retrieved 2014-12-23.
Smith, Roth. (March 29, 2014). "Is Nicaraguan Canal a Boon for Trade or a Boondoggle?". National Geographic. Retrieved 2014-12-23.
Nabi, Shehryar. (December 23, 2014). "Nicaragua begins construction on new 173-mile transoceanic canal". PBS. Retrieved 2014-12-23.
More:
- China's Building a Huge Canal in Nicaragua, But We Couldn't Find It | Bloomberg News
- China Wants to Dig the Nicaragua Canal | The Wall Street Journal
- Land of opportunity – and fear – along route of Nicaragua's giant new canal | The Guardian
- Nicaraguan Canal Could Wreck Environment, Scientists Say | National Geographic
- Nicaragua's Planned $50 Billion Canal Is 'A Gigantic White Elephant' | Business Insider
- Nicaragua launches construction of inter-oceanic canal | BBC
- Nicaragua canal to break ground, hoping to rival Panama | CBS News
- The Red Canal: Uncertainties Surround Nicaragua's New Waterway Project | Der Spiegel International