Work on Nicaragua Canal, to start December

WORK on the Nicaraguan canal is to start in December and will give a huge boost to the country’s economy with  the  gross domestic product (GDP) expected to grow between 4 and 5% to 10.8% in 2015; and up to 15% in 2016.

According to official projections,  Nicaragua plans to double its economy and become one of the fastest growing countries in the world  between 2015 and 2019, when the completion of the work is scheduled.

The Nicaraguan Government and the Chinese HKND Group signed the a framework agreement in June 2013 for for the construction of the Grand Canal Interoceánico project, which involves granting operating ights for 50 years, renewable for another 50. The cost of the project is estimated at $40 billion.

A year after the initial agreement , the Commission of the Grand Canal of Nicaragua and HKND Group presented the planned route of the waterway of 278 kilometers from the coast of the Pacific to the Caribbean

The channel, whose width will be between 230 meters and 520 meters, with a depth of 30 meters, will start from the Pacific coast of Brito, in southwestern Nicaragua, becoming the mouth of Punta Gorda River in the Caribbean after crossing the Great Lake to 105 kilometers, according to the official plan.

HKND Group said that the canal project will include two ports, an airport, a free trade area, a tourist resort complex and roads, plus two locks, an artificial lake and cement and steel.

The construction will required 50,000 workers and will create 200,000 jobs, according to official data.

Each year may pass through the canal boats Some  5,100 of the largest  ships in the world, 5% of international trade, are expected to pass through the canal  each year, with a transit time of 30 hours, including two locks step says HKND Group.

The targets of criticism, mainly from environmentalists, indigenous Caribbean  people and Costa Rica, is the lack of an environmental impact study and information on the results of the study of commercial, technical and  financial viability.

Chinese businessman Wang Jing, owner HKND Group, said during a meeting with Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, in Managua, that the huge work is organic and environmentally friendly.

The Nicaraguan government has started a campaign presentation of the planned route and other details of the Grand Canal project to various sectors, including businessmen and academics.