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Nicaragua canal's main project to start at year end

Xinhua, July 24, 2015 Adjust font size:

Main construction work on the Nicaragua canal project will get underway at the end of 2015, local media reported on Thursday.

"The principal works are estimated to begin at the end of the year," state news agency El 19 said on its website, citing spokesman Telemaco Talavera for Nicaragua's Interoceanic Grand Canal Commission.

The mega project is advancing on schedule, with the preliminary work launched at the end of last year, including peripheral infrastructure such as traffic roads.

The main construction work will begin at Puerto Brito on the Pacific and the other terminal of Puerto Aguila on the Atlantic after social and environmental impact study is finished with final design details drafted, Talavera said.

Talavera, who also serves as a presidential adviser, said the canal's enormous potential is attracting investors and tourists alike.

The 50-billion-U.S.-dollar project, which will rival the Panama Canal upon its completion in 2019, is being built on Rivas Isthmus in southwestern Nicaragua by the Hong Kong-based Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co.

The 278-km canal, able to accommodate container ships of 18,000 TEUs, is expected to boost local economy and turn the country into a central American trade hub. Endi