MOSCOW, November 20 (Sputnik) – The construction of an interoceanic canal through Nicaragua will start on December 24, the Guardian reports Thursday.
"The Nicaraguan people will get a big Christmas present. It has always been pending and now it can happen," the Private Secretary for National Policy of the Nicaraguan President Paul Oquist said as quoted by the newspaper.
Oquist added that the waterway construction would enable Nicaragua to double its GDP and thus eradicate the extreme poverty in the country.
The Nicaraguan canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans will be constructed and managed by the Chinese company HKND, which has also provided the core financing for the project. The construction is projected to last five years with the final canal replacing the century old Panama canal, the Guardian says.
However, the future waterway has caused much concern among the local population and experts over its potential harm to the environment. The future canal will go through some of the most environmentally important areas of the country, including Lake Nicaragua, the main source of fresh water in Central America.
