Not a single stone. What would be the “largest infrastructure project of humanity” has suffered a new blow after the National Assembly of Nicaragua, controlled by President Daniel Ortega, canceled the concession for the construction of the so-called Great Interoceanic Canal delivered in 2013 to the Chinese company HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co., owned by the obscure Chinese businessman Wang Jing, for a period of 50 extendable years. In this way, a project that Ortega had sold as the great solution to the poverty that eats away at the Central American country is shelved, but that had been appealed as unconstitutional and that aroused criticism from scientists and environmentalists. The work, valued at 50,000 million dollars, should have been inaugurated in 2020, but to date only cows graze on the route laid out and local fishermen continue with their routine. The impossible canal in Nicaragua has remained a promise.
Ortega ordered his deputies to reform the Law of the Legal Regime of the Grand Interoceanic Canal of Nicaragua to cancel the concession to Wang Jing. This regulation provided a huge extension of land for the construction of the megaproject, which included wetland areas, intervention in what is the great water reserve of Central America, the great lake of Nicaragua (8,000 square kilometers) and the river basin. San Juan, which separates this country from Costa Rica. The project also affected large agricultural and livestock areas, which aroused the discontent of Nicaraguan farmers, who formed a protest movement that was bloodily repressed by the Government. Ortega has not given explanations for the cancellation of the project, and in the justifications for the legal reform sent to Parliament he only states that it is necessary to adapt the legal regime of the project to “the changing realities” of the international context.
The Canal projected in Nicaragua had a cost that exceeded 50,000 million dollars, with an extension of 278 kilometers from the coasts of the Caribbean to those of the Pacific. The project raised fears among environmental groups who alleged that its construction would be catastrophic for the country’s flora and fauna. Human rights activists feared, for their part, the consequences of a gigantic human displacement along the Canal route. The project generated uncertainty due to the lack of sufficient studies to demonstrate the technical and commercial viability of the work. The ability of Chinese tycoon Wang to convince foreign investors to put their money into construction also raised doubts, especially after it became known that the businessman’s fortune decreased by 84% after the collapse of his company’s shares. telecommunications company, Xinwei, on the Chinese stock market.
There was also speculation about the role that the Chinese Government could play in the construction of the work, an issue that has not been clarified. “It is impossible to know if this is an international project, or if it will only be supported by Chinese capital and companies,” wrote journalist Carlos F. Chamorro in 2014. Chamorro and his journalistic team at the magazine Confidential They developed intense journalistic coverage of the megaproject, demonstrating doubts about its viability. “No one doubts that China has the economic resources and the capacity to carry out gigantic infrastructure works, but if this is a project whose viability depends entirely on the political will of the State of the People’s Republic of China, the geopolitical, environmental and institutional implications , will be completely different for our country. If that is the case, as the secrecy tone seems to indicate, then we are facing a project that will promote the interests of the Chinese power at any cost,” analyzed Chamorro.
Dora María Téllez, a former Sandinista guerrilla captured by Ortega and released last year, believes that Ortega trusts that the Chinese government may be interested in the project. “The canal concession granted by Ortega to Wang Jing officially dead. Now comes the new stage, the endorsement of all concessions to the Chinese Government. Deliver Nicaragua at the price of wet glove. The Ortega Murillo family’s vendetta operation,” Téllez wrote on his profile on the social network X.
The canal concession granted by Ortega to Wang Jing officially dead. Now comes the new stage, the endorsement of all concessions to the Chinese government. Deliver Nicaragua at a bargain price. The Ortega Murillo family’s vendetta operation.
— Dora María Téllez (@DoraMTellez) May 8, 2024
The years following the granting of the concession were terrible for businessman Wang. Not only did he suffer the collapse of his telecommunications company on the stock market, but he also saw his fortune, which he valued at more than 10 billion dollars, collapse in an alarming manner. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index reported in 2015 that the Chinese businessman’s money amounted to only $1.1 billion after losses.
The letter that Wang sent to Ortega in 2021, in which he reaffirmed his interest in the pharaonic work, was of no use. “Nicaragua is destined to become the most important axis of the ‘Belt and Road’ across the Pacific and the Atlantic, an emerging center that promotes economy, trade, technology and culture,” wrote the Chinese. The words were not echoed by the Government, which took away the concession, although it has not buried Ortega’s idea of turning Nicaragua into the land “of milk and honey” that he had promised. The canal project is now in the hands of the Nicaraguan Ministry of Transportation, without funds. The cries of the peasants who opposed the canal still echo: “Get out of Nicaragua, Chinese!” It remains to be seen if Daniel Ortega’s Chinese hopes remain alive.

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