CRI听力:Nicaragua Canal Construction Breaks Ground

A Chinese company and Nicaraguan officials have officially broken ground on a Nicaraguan version of the Panama Canal.

The 50 billion U.S dollar project is a joint venture involving a Hong Kong-based company and the Nicaraguan government.

The canal, designed to rival the over-century old Panama Canal, is expected to run 278 kilometers between the Caribbean and the Pacific.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega says the canal has the potential to change the economy of the country.

"With the wealth that a project of this type generates, we will have greater possibilities of completely eradicating extreme poverty."

The project is expected to generate over 35-thousand construction jobs and double Nicaragua's annual revenues.

The canal is expected to be able to accommodate cargo ships carrying as many as 18-thousand shipping containers.

Jia Xiudong is a Senior Research Fellow with the China Institute of International Studies.

"Most of the cargo ships actually have to go around the tip of South America, because they cannot cross the Panama Canal. Only a few of them go through the Panama Canal. Sometimes they have to wait for passage, wait one or two even three months for the passage over the Panama Canal. So there is need, actual need for the building of a new canal."

The project has already led to sporadic protests, with people in Nicaragua worried about water displacement and the overall impact of the project on the local ecosystem.

The canal is going to be linked through the middle of Nicaragua by the country's largest fresh-water lake.

Wang Jing is chair of Hong Kong-based Nicaragua Canal Development Investment.

"In some moments during our work, we haven't provided information and details in a timely manner. But in our future work, we are going to continue improving our manner in carrying out our work. However, in this project there exists no deception, there exist no lies."

The project does include provisions for the protection of historic monuments and Nicaragua's natural landscapes.

It is expected to be complete by 2019.