With the approval of the environmental and social impact study the Grand Canal Commission has facilitated the beginning of the construction of the waterway.
The Grand Canal Commission has approved the study presented by the Chinese company HKND, concluding that the final impact of the proposed construction of the canal will be positive for the country in social, economic and environmental terms.
Wang Jing, the owner of the concession for the great work, may have lost 84% of his personal assets in recent stock market upheavals in China.
While there has never been complete certainty about the realization of the gigantic work which could radically change the development prospects of one of the poorest countries in the hemisphere, news of the serious economic losses suffered by its promoter Wang Jing, tip the balance of opinions on the Grand Canal to the negative side.
On December 22 the concessionaire of the Grand Canal in Nicaragua, HKND started preliminary works, including the construction of access roads to the excavation sites and other facilities.
Representatives from the Nicaraguan government and the president of the Chinese company HKND, Wang Jing, inaugurated the start of the project to build the canal, which will start, according to the concessionaire, with the ancillary works which are needed before the main work can be begin.
Although many still doubt that the mega project will actually be built, it's time to think and take action both to mitigate the adverse effects it may have on the Costa Rican economy and to take advantage of any business opportunities that may present.
EDITORIAL
The productive sectors in Costa Rica are starting to measure the positive and negative consequences of both the construction and future operation of the Grand Canal of Nicaragua.
Nicaraguan businesses are complaining that HKND may have begun to invite construction companies to participate in tenders to execute various works, and that after receiving the offers, the company declared them void.
Editorial
There is specific mention of a tender for the construction of a service road parallel to the Canal route.
In this regard the president of the Nicaraguan Chamber of Construction (CNC), Benjamin Lanzas, told Laprensa.com.ni that "one of the companies which took part in the tender, is negotiating with HKND over the construction of access roads in various sections among other projects. "
It is believed that in order to feed the 50,000 workers that will be required for the work there is enough meat available, but a shortage of rice and vegetables.
In the meeting held by the Superior Council of Private Enterprise (COSEP) and the Union of Agricultural Producers of Nicaragua delegates from the company HKND, discussed the issue of the country's capacity to provide food for the 50,000 workers needed to complete the work.
The HKND dealership has announced that it requires 50,000 domestic workers for the project and that the more specialized positions will be filled by Chinese professionals.
In a presentation on the project to the representatives of trade unions in the country, the Chinese company HKND noted that "... part of the proposals ... are structuring a work plan between the construction sector, universities and technical training institutes.
Potential investments in land next to a route that has still not been defined will not be realized until there is certainty about what will happen to those properties.
From a statement issued by the Nicaraguan Foundation for Economic and Social Development:
If built, the Interoceanic Canal would have impacts on the national economy which are difficult to pin down because of the magnitude of the project and the limited information available.
Germans set the record straight: in order to consider investing in the development of the Grand Canal of Nicaragua, much more information is needed than is currently available.
An article on Elnuevodiario.com.ni reports that "... The German ambassador in Nicaragua, Karl Otto Konig said today that investors from his country need more information in order to assess their future participation in the construction of a canal in the country. "
Without revealing how it will be financed, HKND Group has presented a draft design which as well as the canal also includes deepwater ports, a free trade zone, a resort, an airport and an artificial lake.
Amid concerns about the lack of information regarding the source of funds to finance the mega project, the government of Nicaragua and HKND reported that the project, in addition to the construction of the canal, will include the construction of two deepwater ports, a free trade zone, a resort and an airport north of Rivas.
The government has announced that it is analyzing with the Russian authorities ways in which to include their participation in the construction of the work.
Russia has announced through its Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov that it is willing to participate in the construction of the Canal of Nicaragua project and is currently developing concrete forms of cooperation in the work given in concession to the Chinese company and Group HKND estimated at $40 billion.
The hitherto largely unknown businessman Wang Jing emphasizes mega project's separation from the Chinese government, while announcing agreements with large companies for its construction.
A Reuters article reports that Wang Jing, who heads the Grand Interoceanic Canal of Nicaragua project is ignoring the skepticism about how a little known entrepreneur can run such a huge transcontinental project, while insisting that he is not an agent of the government in Beijing .
The Supreme Court has rejected the appeals launched by 31 business and other groups against the Law of the Grand Interoceanic Canal Concession.
Roberto Larios Melendez, a spokesman for the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) said to Elnuevodiario.com.ni that "the main argument by which the judges of the Supreme Court rejected the 31 resources is unconstitutional because it concluded that the aforementioned law does not contradict the Constitution. "
The Government and Chinese companies responsible for analyzing the environmental viability of the project have made presentations private on the partial developments.
Environmental Resource Management (ERM) and China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) submitted to the Technical Advisory Committee of the Grand Canal, and without allowing access to journalists - the progress of the environmental studies for the construction of the inter-oceanic canal.
Business leaders will form part of the technical committee of advisers to the Grand Canal Megaproject in Nicaragua.
Joseph Adam Aguerri, president of the Superior Council of Private Enterprise (Cosep) and Benjamin Lanzas, chief of the Nicaraguan Chamber of Construction were chosen by the board of Cosep as their representatives to the committee.
Also elected as alternates were Rodrigo Caldera of the Chamber of Industries, (Cadin) and Ricardo Meléndez of the Chamber of Urban Builders (Cadur) .