It was billed as the biggest earth-moving operation in history: the creation of a 170-mile canal across Nicaragua, linking the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean.
The Grand Interoceanic Canal (commonly known as the Nicaraguan Canal) would have been more than twice the length of the Panama Canal, and wide enough for the new generation of 400,000 tonne container ships.
Now, it appears that the £40 billion project is on hold amid rumours that it has been shelved because of China’s improved relations with Panama.
