Another Chinese partnership that may be less—and more—than it appears.
[T]he project faces obstacles as big as its ambitions—many of them internal. Chinese billionaire Wang Jing, who heads the Hong Kong Nicaragua Development Group that’s leading the project, has personally funded much of the preliminary work—but in 2015, he lost more than 80% of his fortune in the Chinese stock market rout. Financial problems, along with ongoing environmental and engineering reviews, are causing rolling delays.
The appearance of problems has only been heightened by officials’ unusual communication strategy. As of August of last year, journalists found no evidence of actual construction, while the Nicaraguan government insisted ground was being broken. Organizers have remained insistent on a five-year timeline for the canal’s completion, even though the shorter Panama Canal took more than a decade to build.
It’s also uncertain how, or if, the canal would actually work once completed. Other problems include likely catastrophic impacts on the environment, and massive displacement of villages along the route, a prospect that has been vehemently protested by international civil rights groups.
There are also deep questions about the canal’s economic fundamentals.
