Today's post is about a channel whose construction and opening is the most controversial, in Nicaragua.We invite you to know a little more, and that everyone draw their conclusions.
A channel that sinks in the past
Since colonial times it has been speculated with the possibility of taking advantage of the position of Lake Nicaragua (also known by its Nahuatl name, Cocibolca ) to make a channel that links the waters of the Caribbean Sea with those of the Pacific Ocean.
In fact, the Americans were developing a project at the end of the 19th century, which they abandoned when they bought the dere chos to complete the construction works of the Panama Canal, which the French left with the boards in their heads, and which eventually became one of the busiest navigation channels in the world.
Current channel project
In 2013 the government of Daniel Ortega and the congress of Nicaragua approved the new project for a channel in that country that united the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean, taking advantage of the navigable waters of Lake Nicaragua.
The project was awarded to the Chinese company HKND ( HK Nicaragua Canal Development ) , and in addition to the canal includes the construction of two deep water ports, a railway that connects both ports, two international airports and a free trade zone; all with an approximate cost of 50,000 million dollars .
The Nicaraguan canal, 270km long, will be three times longer than the canal from Panama , 90 kilometers of navigation will be by the lake, the second largest in Latin America (after Lake Maracaibo, in Venezuela), and would increase business between Africa, Asia, America and Europe in a way remarkable.
HKND would control the channel for 50 years, extendable for fifty more years .
Positions for and against
Naturally, no work of these dimensions thrives without generating controversy anywhere in the world.Resistance to this project has gone from geopolitical reasons to environmental reasons , although there have also been an open defense of this project especially by the ruling party, the Sandinistas. These consider this work to be essential to get Nicaragua out of the chronic poverty in which most Nicaraguans live, and that has forced to look for jobs in neighboring countries, such as Costa Rica, Panama and the United States.
It is estimated that by 2030 the channel would produce profits in the amount of 27,000 million dollars annually and more than 130,000 jobs work.
Regarding the environmental impact, the company in charge of evaluating it has indicated that it would be relatively low and manageable, as it has been done in the Panama Canal.
On the opposite side, on that of the critics, it is considered that the p project was approved without discussion Sion was public and democratic , that Nicaragua's sovereignty is being compromised and that neither the government nor the assembly pressed to ensure that HKND works with Nicaraguan labor and companies.
Ecological, the main objection is that the consultant responsible for assessing the environmental impact of the construction of the channel is being financed by HKND , and that the future of the source of fresh water would be being played largest in Central America.
There has also been resistance from peasant organizations due to expropriation, but this has not prevented Construction work began in December 2014.
Certainly a work whose impact goes beyond from the borders of Nicaragua.If you were interested in this article, you can also read about the temple of heaven in China.
Images: Tobias Eder, natacha cornaz, Daniel Fajardo Valenti, Reedz Malik, Jorge Mejia peralta, MRS Sandinista Renewal Movement, SORIANONEARTH
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