Costa Rica’s Neighbor to the North- Something Big is Going on in Nicaragua. Nicaragua has a standing army.  

Today, something big is going on in Nicaragua called  “The Gran Canal Project”.  It is an ambitious  $40 billion project of 278 kilometers- an interoceanic canal  (stretching from the Pacific Ocean, all way to the Caribbean Sea  (Atlantic ocean). It is three times longer than the Panama Canal.  It will forever change the economic landscape of Nicaragua and make it one of Central America’s richest countries. Construction will begin early 2015.

The money, design, and construction assistance  will come from the Chinese Hong Kong Nicaragua Development Company.

The Pacific Ocean point of entrance will be  the mouth of the Brito River, in Rivas.  Planned is a large petroleum port and a free trade zone . Plus a  tourism complex is planned near by. The free zone will cover around 29 square kilometers and provide residential housing, and create 113,000 jobs.

Some people will be displaced from their homes.  Their land will be taken over by the Nicaragua Government -and they will be relocated and hopefully gain new employment within the new jobs created by the canal project.

Surveying has begun. One of Asia’s  top state-owned engineering firms is now in Rivas- the Changjiang Institute of Survey, Planning, Design, and Research Company. The surveyors are accompanied by soldiers from the Nicaragua Army.

Additionally large tourism projects are planned for Ometepe Island, located in the middle of Lake Nicaragua.  This large lake encompasses almost all the southern land mass of Nicaragua.

On the Caribbean side plans call for the construction of a large artificial lake bout the size of Denver, Colorado.  This area will be developed into an large eco tourism project.

Daniel Ortega, President of Nicaragua projects this project to create enough jobs to bring his country out of poverty.