Hong Kong: Opposition is growing to a Chinese telecoms tycoon’s plans for a huge new canal across Nicaragua
The proposed 284km waterway is being touted as a larger alternative to the Panama canal. Construction is scheduled to begin in December with $50bn funding from the Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Company (HKND), which is owned by Beijing based multi-millionaire Wang Jing.
Danish NGO Forests of the World has accused the Nicaraguan Government and HKND of failing to involve indigenous people in the planning process, saying the canal will wreak havoc on forests and force people to move.
“The canal is to be built straight through the Rama and Kriol territory, splitting it into two parts,” Claus Kjaerby, Central America representative at Forests of the World, told the UK’s Guardian newspaper. “It’s just like if someone wanted to build a bicycle trail through your garden and they do not consult with you.”
Nicaragua’s indigenous groups have appealed to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for legal counsel.
The Nicaragua canal forms part of a series of questions posed by our sister title, Maritime CEO in a quarterly online poll we regularly run. In early voting 65.22% of respondents said there was no actual need for the new canal. [06/10/14]
