The agreement, which was ratified June 13, grants Hong
Kong-based HKND exclusive rights for the planning, design, construction,
operation, and management of the Nicaragua Canal and other potential infrastructure
development projects, including free trade zones and an international airport.
“Central America is at the center of North-South and
East-West global trade flows, and we believe Nicaragua provides the perfect
location for a new international shipping and logistics hub,” HKND Group
Chairman Wang Jing said in a prepared statement announcing the agreement.
“Global shipping demands the efficiency and cost
competitiveness of increasingly larger ships, and we believe this project will
serve that still-unmet need,” Jing said.
The Nicaragua Canal is a proposed waterway through Nicaragua
to connect the Pacific Ocean with Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. The
130-mile waterway is expected to take up to 11 years to complete.
HKND says it has determined that contrary to previous
belief, the route will not follow the San Juan River and that it is exploring
the viability of alternate pathways.
HKND says that initial findings from its commercial analysis
state that growth in East-West trade and ship sizes could eventually lead to $1.4
trillion in total goods value transiting the combined Nicaragua and Panama
canals.
