Nicaragua: start of China-backed canal to rival Panama
Nicaragua announces start of China-backed canal to rival Panama
又一个中国人的巨大世界工程 在人类历史上留下中国人的巨大足迹
Nicaragua has announced the start of work on a $50 billion shipping canal, an infrastructure project backed by China that aims to rival Panama’s waterway.
Nicaragua’s government says the proposed 278-kilometre canal, due to be operational by around 2020, would raise annual economic growth to more than 10 per cent, revitalising the economy of the second-poorest country in the Americas.
The canal could also give China a major foothold in Central America, a region long dominated by the United States, which completed the Panama Canal a century ago.
The canal itself will be between 230 and 520 meters wide.
Panama Canal:
Ships pass through the Gatun locks of the Panama Canal
The Panama Canal was first completed by the US over 100 years ago and remains one of the busiest waterways in the world
![[South America] [Latin America] Chinese investment](https://www.wautom.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/la-200x120.jpg "[South America] [Latin America] Chinese investment")
中资尼加拉瓜运河项目遭当地人抗议
12 月24日，示威农民展示被警察橡皮子弹击中的枪伤，当天有21人在与警方的冲突中受伤。从周二起，尼加拉瓜部分地区再次出现反对该项目的示威，据示威者及反对派议员消息，有两人在周三的示威中被警察打死。法新社报道说，一名示威领导人说，他亲眼见到两位民众的遗体，但警察阻止示威者靠近。尼加拉瓜反对党领导人说，警方镇压还导致多人受伤。不过，尼加拉瓜政府尚未对抗议民众的伤亡予以证实。
拥有尼加拉瓜运河100年独家运营和管理权的香港尼加拉瓜运河开发投资有限公司(下称“HKND集团”)，据王靖称由北京大洋新河投资管理有限公司 (下称 “大洋新河”)投资，大洋新河由王靖100%控股，工商资料显示，其注册资金为50万元。在接受国外媒体采访时，王靖不愿谈及其财富积累的细节，他用了成 语“集腋成裘”来形容这一过程。尼加拉瓜运河的巨额投资据称也与王靖在信威集团的资产完全无关。在国际舞台上，这位年轻的商人被称为“神秘的大亨”。
据项目初步规划，新运河全长约280公里，长度为巴拿马运河的三倍，深30米，总造价高达500亿美元，是该国年国民生产总值的5倍，预计建成后可吸引全球航运总量的4.5%。该运河如果顺利建成，无疑将成为当地巴拿马运河的竞争对手，并为中国在中美洲建立一个立足点。