The Costa Rica News (TCRN) – This week in Geneva, Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solís Rivera called for information on environmental impact from Nicaragua regarding the planned $50 billion canal project – formally called the Nicaraguan Canal and Development Project.
Construction of the Nicaragua Canal is financed and will be operated by Hong Kong-based HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co Ltd (HKND Group). The HKND Group is controlled by Wang Jing, a Chinese telecom billionaire. The Chinese government is reportedly not supporting the project.
The canal would require significant dredging of Lake Nicaragua which would cause sedimentation in the San Juan River. The San Juan River designates a major portion of the Costa Rica-Nicaragua border.
“… We asked Nicaragua to tell us how they were planning to prevent the sedimentation of the San Juan River. We have not received that information,” Solis said in a news conference in Geneva.
The project was officially started in December 2014, and the proposed 172 mile (278 km) canal, is set to commence operation by 2020. The Nicaragua Canal would is expected to stimulate economic growth in Nicaragua by more than 10 percent, creating thousands of new jobs.
Original report provided by Reuters
The Costa Rica News (TCRN)
San Jose, Costa rica
