HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co Ltd's (HKND Group) has been granted a 50-year concession from Nicaragua authorities for it to design, build and manage a shipping channel across the Central American nation that would compete with the Panama Canal, Reuters reports.
The estimated cost of the project is about $40 billion. The canal will link Nicaragua's Caribbean and Pacific coasts. The project includes building of two free-trade zones, a railway, an oil pipeline and airports.
The government says the canal, which has been discussed for decades, could boost the country's gross domestic product by up to 15 percent.