Nicaragua launches work on canal project

Some 18 months after the highly controversial concession was granted to the Hong Kong-based HKND Group, Nicaragua has officially begun work on its hugely ambitious interoceanic canal project.

“This moment will surely go down in history. I announce the start of work on the great canal of Nicaragua,” HKND boss Wang Jing said at the official ceremony, held in the municipality of Rivas in the southwest and attended by the country’s Vice President Omar Halleslevens.

“With this great canal, Nicaragua expects to move 5% of the world’s commerce that moves by sea, which will bring great economic benefits and double the GDP,” Halleslevens said.