China Slowdown Not Holding Back Nicaragua Canal, Contractor Says

By Michael McDonald

(Bloomberg) — Hong-Kong based mostly HKND Group, contracted to construct a $50 billion canal throughout Nicaragua, expects to start out building on a gas terminal and a ship wharf as quickly as August on the Pacific coast after a 12 months of delays.

The works shall be a part of a port facility for importing equipment wanted for “major works” comparable to dredging, HKND Group Vice President KW Pang stated in an e-mailed response to questions, with out specifying when digging would start. Financing for the 170-mile (274-kilometer) lengthy canal may come from debt and fairness gross sales and a possible IPO, he stated.

“Many businessmen from Latin America, China and Europe have come to talk with us,” Pang stated. “The project’s financing does not depend on the state of the stock market in China. It is an international project. Funding will come from many countries and many investment sectors.”

The viability of the venture, which might be 300 miles from the century-old Panama Canal, has been questioned by transport consultants and engineers since Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega first introduced the plans and the nation’s legislature awarded the contract with out accepting competing bids. The firm estimates that some 27,000 folks must be re-located and stated they are going to provide “fair market value” for properties.

Anti-canal activists on Tuesday gathered 20,000 signatures in a bid to repeal the regulation that green-lighted the venture and can current their petition to Nicaragua’s congress. A survey by Cid Gallup and printed in newspaper Confidencial in January confirmed that 34 p.c of respondents thought-about the canal to be “pure propaganda,” whereas a separate research printed by the federal government stated that 81 p.c of Nicaraguans help the canal.

“There will always be some people who have concerns,” Pang stated. “We are, however, convinced that the canal represents a large step towards progress, economic growth and social welfare for Nicaragua and the region.”

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