Nicaraguan Parliament on Thursday 50-year concession granted to a Chinese company designs, builds and manages the entire Central American countries shipping channel will compete with the Panama Canal.
$ 4 billion, as proposed by the Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co. (Group HKND) call to connect the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific coast of Nicaragua, including two free trade zones, railways, oil pipelines and airport projects.
The Government says, canals, has been discussed for decades, can improve the country's gross domestic product (GDP) up to 15%.
Edwin Castro said, "Today is a poor people of this country want," President Daniel Ortega's ruling party MPs, before the vote marks the final legislative approval of the transaction.
Hong Kong-based HKND team led by Chinese lawyer Wang Jing. He also led the Chinese company Xinwei Telecom Enterprise Group, last year received the phone concession in Nicaragua.
Central America is in the north and south and east of the center of global trade flows, we believe that Nicaragua offers a new international shipping and logistics hub in the ideal location, "Beijing, after approval of the plan, said in a statement."
"We have a lot of work to do, but we have to clear that we intended it to be a world-class efforts to create economic opportunities, providing global trade community and to protect the local environment, heritage and culture of Nicaragua."
Chinese state-owned asset sales plan critics attacked. After Thursday's vote, a group of opposition lawmakers left the Chamber before singing the national anthem of Nicaragua raised a banner that read, "Ortega: traitor."
Assembled outside, about 100 people gathered to protest the decision, but there is no reported incidents.
Timed it?
Last week, Ortega said the government should do a feasibility study from 2015, when the work on the canal may begin to move forward.
These studies will define what route the canal would cut through the country. Any design will almost certainly split in the 3,191 square miles (8,265 square kilometers), is the largest lake in Central America, Lake Nicaragua.
Advocates say, it is recommended to play the natural advantages of Nicaragua, including the low-lying land and lakes.
Nevertheless, the channel is likely to be longer than 48 miles (77 km) of the Panama Canal, the United States ten years to build the narrowest isthmus three times. It was completed in 1914.
The idea of ??the shipping canal in Nicaragua is almost as old as the country itself. United States has been looking at a trade route since the 19th century, the Panama Canal began at about the same time to work.
But for the Chinese supporters of the project, the timing appears correct. China is the world's second largest economy, one of the region's largest consumer, buying Latin American exports to boost domestic economic growth.
"We believe - just over 16 years from now - Nicaragua Canal addressing trade volume by 2030 there will be an increase of 240 percent, starting today," the company said in a statement.
"Merge Nicaragua and Panama Canal transit goods may exceed the total value of U.S. $ 1.4 trillion in the world, one of the most important trade routes," it said.
Panama Canal officials say it is too early to Nicaragua waterway or how it affects trade is feasible.
"We got such a hypothetical question, what will happen every day, and if the Arctic melts, if manufacturing moves from China to Mexico," said Rodolfo Sabonge the Panama Canal Authority, vice president of market research.
"Until we actually see the plan and understand the investment, we all know, they talk about $ 4 billion," he said. "This is a very, very early."
 



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