The US Embassy in Nicaragua on Tuesday said that it was concerned by a lack of information surrounding the planned US$50 billion, Chinese-led canal that aims to bisect the Central American nation.
Work began late last month on the 278km waterway, which its Hong Kong-based developer HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co Ltd (HKND Group) says will be operational by 2020, but so far it has been met with widespread skepticism.
HKND Group is controlled by a little-known Chinese mogul, Wang Jing (王靖), who said Beijing is not behind the project. However, his reluctance to reveal his financiers has led many to speculate that he has China’s tacit backing.
Photo: Reuters
China’s involvement would be a direct challenge to the Panama Canal, which was controlled by the US until 1999. The canal would also give China a major foothold in Central America, a region long dominated by the US. The US embassy in Nicaragua declined to comment when work began last month.
However, in a statement released on Tuesday, the US mission in Managua said that all documents pertaining to the project should be made public, and that the voices of all stakeholders should be heard in a peaceful manner.
“The embassy is worried by the lack of information and transparency that has existed, and continues to exist, over many of the important aspects of this project,” it said.
Just days after the groundbreaking, at least 21 people were injured in clashes between police and protesters opposed to the project.
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