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Chinese firm awarded Nicaragua Canal feasibility studyChinese firm awarded Nicaragua Canal feasibility study

China Communications Construction Co (CCCC) has signed a $4.32m contract for the feasibility study for ports associated with the planned Nicaragua canal.

Michele Labrut, Americas Correspondent

August 7, 2013

1 Min Read
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The project, to be carried out by CCCC subsidiary Second Harbour Consultants involves a feasibility study, engineering survey, geographical survey, hydrological survey and tidal observation of the port section of Nicaragua canal development project.

In June 2011, the Chinese infrastructure giant was awarded a contract to the third bridge over the Panama Canal and the first on the Atlantic side, in partnership with US-based engineering consultancy firm Louis Berger Group, the construction of which was later awarded to France’s Vinci.

Hong Kong-based developer HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment (HKND) signed the contract for Nicaragua canal development project with the Nicaraguan government in August 2012, with an estimated total investment of $40bn.  The project involves digging a canal linking the Pacific to the Atlantic, constructing a deepwater port, a free trade zone and an international airport on both ends of the canal.

HKND has said that Nicaragua's interoceanic canal will be completed by 2019, according to a release from the Nicaraguan presidency.

"I'm 100% certain that construction will start in December 2014 and will finish five years later in 2019," said HKND ceo Wang Jing to international media.

According to Wang Jing, the 286 km canal will start in Hound Sound Bar, south of the Isla del Venado, on the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua, and pass through the Escondido, Rama and Oyate rivers before crossing 80 km of the Nicaragua lake, after which it will pass through the Las Lajas river and end in the Brito river, on the Pacific coast.

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About the Author

Michele Labrut

Americas Correspondent

Michèle Labrut is a long-time Panama resident, a journalist and correspondent, and has continuously covered the maritime sector of Central & Latin America.

Michèle first came to Panama as a press attaché to the French Embassy and then returned to the isthmus as a foreign correspondent in the 1980s.

Author of Seatrade Maritime's annual Panama Maritime Review magazine and of several books, Michèle also wrote for Time magazine, The Miami Herald, NBC News and the Economist Intelligence Unit. She has also collaborated in making several documentaries for the BBC and European and U.S. television networks.

Michèle's profession necessitates a profound knowledge of the country, but her acumen is not from necessity alone, but a genuine passion for Panama.

In 2012 she was awarded the Order of Merit (Knight grade) by the French Government for her services to international journalism and in 2021 the upgrade to Chevalier grade.

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