Nicaragua Canal breaks ground

The Vice President of Nicaragua, Moises Omar Halleslevens, delivers a speech during the inauguration ceremony of the inter-oceanic Nicaragua Canal project in the department of Rivas, Nicaragua, on Dec 22, 2014.The construction of the inter-oceanic Nicaragua Canal started Monday and will end in 2019, said Wang Jing, chairman of the Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co., Ltd. (HKND), which will construct the canal, at the inauguration ceremony Monday. [Photo/Xinhua]

MANAGUA - The construction of the inter-oceanic Nicaragua Canal started Monday and will end in 2019, said Wang Jing, chairman of the HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co., Ltd. which will construct the canal, at the inauguration ceremony Monday.

The construction of the canal will be a boon to the future of mankind, Wang told guests and officials.

The inauguration of the works, in the country's southwest city of Rivas, was attended by Wang, chairman of the HKND Group, as well as other Chinese and Nicaraguan authorities.

Photos of the event on El 19, Nicaragua's semi-official digital daily, showed guests arriving at the site, some by helicopter.

The 50-billion US-dollar project, slated to be completed by 2019, has been hailed by some as a visionary undertaking that could turn poor Nicaragua into a regional economic power, and drive development in Central America.

But the canal, which would rival the Panama Canal to the south, also has its detractors, with sporadic protests breaking out as early as 2013, when the project was first approved by Nicaragua's legislature.

Residents in the area to be affected worry about being displaced by the 278-km canal which will cut through the country, while environmentalists are concerned the large-scale project might harm the ecosystem.

Addressing their concerns, Wang said: "As to the sacred topic of environmental protection, we can say that in the past two years, each member of our team has been able to get to know, protect, develop and make proper use of the wildlife."

Speaking through an interpreter, Wang added that the project has involved days and nights of discussions regarding the protection of cultural historic monuments, valuable flora and fauna, and the country's natural landscapes.

The route of the canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans will pass through Nicaragua Lake, a more than 8,000-square- kilometer body of freshwater that is Central America's biggest lake and the 19th largest in the world.

A top Nicaraguan religious authority, Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo, called on Nicaraguans to support the canal project, saying it will benefit employment.

"I believe the people should support it, because (the canal) is providing employment sources," the cardinal said, according to El 19.

Laureano Ortega Murillo, the president's son and the investment adviser of PRONicaragua, which promoted foreign investment in the country, said the project will most of all benefit future generations.

"This is a project by the young, for the young," said Ortega at the ceremony. "That's why Nicaraguan youth today welcome Wang Jing, to fill him with the strength and the vitality to continue making progress towards success in this great project."

Also attending the inauguration in Rivas were Nicaraguan Vice President Omar Halleslevens, and the president of the Grand Canal Commission, Manuel Coronel.

At the end of the ceremony, Wang and Halleslevens symbolically launched the project by scattering roses.