Nicaragua's canal: in a sleepy Pacific port, something stirs

© Riderfoot

Oh wow, here comes the Nicaragua Canal once more… There has been little more than an extended silence on this over the last year, although given that 2016 has been the year that saw Panama open its massive expansion, that may hardly seem surprising. As a result, many in the shipping industry have long-believed the Grand Transoceanic Canal of Nicaragua, to give it its full name, is little more than a red herring. However, locals living on the country’s Pacific coast report that activity around the project is stirring: “In recent weeks, they say, engineers have conducted geological surveys and marked up the area, farmers have been paid $3,000 to allow surveys of their land, and more than 500 acres have been purchased by the Chinese developer HKND for road-widening.”