The Nicaragua Canal (Spanish: Canal de Nicaragua) (also referred to as the Nicaragua Grand Canal, or the Nicaragua Inter-oceanic Grand Canal) is a shipping route under construction through Nicaragua to connect the Caribbean Sea (and therefore the Atlantic Ocean) with the Pacific Ocean. Construction of such a shipping route—using the San Juan River as an access route to Lake Nicaragua—was first proposed in the early colonial era.

1. NICARAGUAN CANAL AND
DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

2. WHAT IS CANAL??
 An artificial waterway constructed to allow the
passage of boats or ships inland or to convey water
for irrigation.
 IMPORTANCE-
1. Importance to commerce and the development
2. Growth and vitality of a civilization
3. Irrigation
4. Power generation
5. Tourism
6. Transportation

3. INTRODUCTION
 The major infrastructure development project in Nicaragua,
the largest country in the Central American isthmus,
bordering Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the
south
 Connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean
through the lake Nicaragua thus dividing the country in 2
parts.
 Work started officially on December 22, 2014 and is
scheduled to be completed by 2020
 One of the largest civil engg. works projects ever
undertaken
 Undertaken by the Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal
Development Investment Company (HKND Group)

4. INTRODUCTION

5. LETS TALK NUMBERS NOW
 520 meters wide
 173 miles long (275.5 km)
 Cost- US$40bn ( =4X GDP)
 Target of doubling the
no of jobs in the country
 Economic growth expected
to rise from 4.5% to 14.6%
 US$2bn revenue to the govt

6. DIMENSIONS

7. CANAL SEGMENTATION
LANDSCAPE
Canal is divided into 5 sections as shown
in the figure below

8. PROPOSED CANAL ROUTE

9. TIMELINE
 The pre-construction phase - getting permits,
acquiring land and machinery and finalizing designs
and plans.
 The early construction phase (Dec 2014 to Sep
2015) - it secures access to construction sites,
provides the critical infrastructure and mobilizes the
workforce.
 The construction phase (Sep 2015 to March
2020)- time to dig the canal and build the locks plus
their infrastructure.
 The commissioning phase (April 2020 to June
2020)-` testing of the lock operations and training of
lock and tug boat operators.

10. PROJECT FACILITIES
 The canal;
 Two locks and associated impoundments
upstream;
 Dredge disposal areas and excavated
material placement areas;
 A dike;
 A stand-alone dam
 Ports at the canal’s Pacific and Caribbean
entrances;

11. PROJECT FACILITIES
 Associated Project Facilities, including
transport improvements,
 Power generating and transmission facilities
to deliver the power required to operate the
canal;
 Two cement plants and associated
aggregate quarries;
 A free trade zone including tourist HOTELS,
 An international airport at Rivas is also
planned to be built.

12. WORKFORCE
 50,000 people will be
employed during the 5-year
construction,
 1,400 - administrative
positions and the others
are in the field.
 The estimate for the
workforce in 2020 when the
project is completed is
3,700 people, and 12,700
in 2050 when traffic has
increased.
50%
25%
25%
workers
nicaragua
china
others

13. FINANCING
 The estimated costs are US$40bn.
 Private money provided by Wang Jing at the start-
up,
 Financial support is expected from INVESTORS
 XCMG, a state-owned Chinese construction
company will provide machinery and take 1.5-3% of
HKND shares in return.
 As of the end of 2014 no major INVESTORS have
been named.
 There has been speculation that the Chinese
government provides financial backing for the
project, but China as well as Wang Jing have

14. PROJECTIONS
 Transit time is about 30 hours.
3576 4138 5097
12855
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
2020 2030 2050 panama
no of transits projected
no of transits…

15. RISKS AND OPPOSITION
 The project has financial, political and engineering
risks,
 Stratfor , an analyst agency, believes the target to
be an “unrealistic goal”.
 A coast-to-coast railway line may be built by China
in Honduras and could affect utilization of the canal.
 Impact of the project on Lake Nicaragua, the
largest source of freshwater in Nicaragua.
 An oil spill would have serious and lasting
consequences,
 The impact of dredging bringing up toxic sediments,

16. RISKS AND OPPOSITION
 The disruption of migration patterns of
animal species,
 The potential to introduce invasive species
to the Lake,
 The estimates of the number of people who
will be displaced range from 29,000 to more
than 100,000,
 The apparent lack of experience of Wang
Jing and his HKND Group in large-scale
engineering has been cited as a risk.

17. RISKS AND OPPOSITION
Nicaragua has witnessed protests against the
construction which had even led to the
casualties.

18. SOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
 http://en.wikipedia.org/
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1yJzBvc
Aoo
 http://www.cnbc.com/id/102451065
 http://hknd-
group.com/upload/pdf/20150105/Nicaragua_
Canal_Project_Description_EN.pdf

19. THANK YOU
DHRUV KUMAR
A3CA-10
12CEB170
GG9461