Chanting “No to the canal!” thousands protested in Nicaragua’s capital on Wednesday over a plan that threatens an environmental and land rights catastrophe.
The 173-mile, $50 billion canal would link the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, passing through Lake Nicaragua. Construction for the canal, which would be bigger than the Panama Canal, is slated to begin Dec. 22.
Impacted communities have held a series of protests over the project, but Wednesday’s action was the first to hit Managua.
Hong Kong-based Hong Kong Nicaragua Development (HKND) is “set to oversee construction and administer the canal for the first 100 years,” Agence France-Presse reports. HKND was established by Chinese businessman Wang Jing.
From Reuters:
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