Nicaragua Canal

Nicaragua Canal
Nicaragua Canal Project (2014) (blue line). Stars indicate Brito and Camilo Locks. The red line is the border between Nicaragua (above) and Costa Rica (below).
Specifications
Length	170 miles (270 km)
Status	Construction approved but not started
History
Original owner	Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Company (HKND Group)
Date of act	2013
Geography
Start point	Punta Brito
End point	Bluefields

The Nicaraguan Canal (Spanish: Canal de Nicaragua), formally the Nicaraguan Canal and Development Project (also referred to as the Nicaragua Grand Canal, or the Grand Interoceanic Canal) is a planned shipping route through Nicaragua to connect the Caribbean Sea (and therefore the Atlantic Ocean) with the Pacific Ocean. Its viability has been questioned by shipping experts and engineers. "Major works" such as dredging will take place after a Pacific Ocean wharf is finished and the wharf's construction will not start until late 2016.

In June 2013, Nicaragua's National Assembly approved a bill to grant a 50-year concession to finance and manage the project to the private Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Company (HKND Group) headed by Wang Jing, a Chinese billionaire. The concession can be extended for another 50 years once the waterway is operational. Media reports have suggested the project would now be delayed or even possibly canceled because Wang's personal wealth declined greatly as a result of the . The Nicaraguan government has failed to present reliable information about whether or not the project can be financed, thus casting doubt over whether or not it can be completed. The HKND Group says that financing will come from debt and equity sales and a potential initial public offering (IPO).

Scientists are concerned about the project's environmental impact, as Lake Nicaragua is Central America's key freshwater reservoir.

Construction of a canal using the San Juan River as an access route to Lake Nicaragua was first proposed in the early colonial era. The United States abandoned plans to construct a waterway in Nicaragua in the early 20th century after it purchased the French interests in the Panama Canal.