The planned $50 billion canal across Nicaragua is “viable”, an environmental study says with no further details revealed.
NicaraguaCanal by Ekem via Wikimedia Commons
According to the spokesman of the Canal Commission, Telemaco Talavera, next in the plan is the study of the Environmental Resources Management (ERM) to be voted on in July.
“In summary, ERM says that the project offers potential benefits for the environment and the people of Nicaragua,” he added for local media.
The study, which was delivered on Sunday, is a result of two years of field research.
The project have faced criticism from environmental activists and political opponents of President Daniel Ortega.
Last December, teams broke ground on access roads related to the new canal, but the digging of the waterway itself is yet to start. According to Wang Jing, a Beijing telecoms tycoon fronting the project, the excavation of the waterway should start by September.
The initial plans is the 172-mile (278 km) canal to be open by 2020.