July 8 - The Nicaraguan government and the company behind plans to build the proposed canal to link the Pacific and Atlantic, Hong Kong Nicaragua Development (HKND) Investment Co., have settled on a route.

HLPFI reported in its Friday Flyer on January 17, 2014 that Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega and HKND chief executive Wang Jing had revealed that the project would go ahead in December 2014. Both parties still stand by this start date.

The route is expected to stretch 278 km from the mouth of the Brito River, which connects the Pacific to Lake Nicaragua, to the Punta Gorda river on the Caribbean. The proposed dimensions of the Nicaragua Canal are between 230 m and 520 m wide, with a depth of 27.6 m.

The industry is rife with speculation over the likelihood of the canal going ahead, however, which has been heightened by the never-ending obstacles that the consortium in charge of the Panama Canal expansion project seems to be coming up against.

Wang Jing has also not yet revealed which investors are backing the project.

If the canal is competed it should be able to hander larger vessels than its rival canal in Panama.

Reports in the international media suggest that there are already engineers in Nicaragua working on the project, and HLPFI will continue to follow its progress.

www.hknd-group.com

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