HK-based company reveals route for transcontinental 'Nicaragua Canal'

In today’s second canal-related story, Hong Kong-based HKND Group has unveiled the route for their planned Nicaragua Canal connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

Last year, the company won a concession to design, build and manage a US$40 billion canal cutting through the Central American nation despite having no infrastructure experience. The proposed route is over three times the length of its existing counterpart in Panama, but much of this passes through Lake Nicaragua, the region's largest lake.

Building a transcontinental canal through Nicaragua is hardly a new idea — having originally been proposed in 1825, it predates even proposals for the Panama Canal. Through a combination of geological and time concerns and plenty of shady backroom dealing (lobbyists planted a story in the US press greatly exaggerating volcanic activity along the Nicaraguan route) the plan ultimately lost out to its Panamanian rival.

The plans have been challenged by environmentalists and indigenous groups, but others believe the Panama Canal rival will massively benefit the Nicaraguan economy and make it the richest country in the region.