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The Nicaraguan Canal ((スペイン語:Canal de Nicaragua)), formally the Nicaraguan Canal and Development Project (also referred to as the Nicaragua Grand Canal, or the Nicaragua Interoceanic Grand Canal) is a planned shipping route through Nicaragua to connect the Caribbean Sea (and therefore the Atlantic Ocean) with the Pacific Ocean. , no significant construction has taken place. It had been announced that construction of ports and locks would start before the end of 2015, but no money has yet been deposited for construction. In November 2015 the date of commencement for major construction works was put back to late 2016. In June 2013, Nicaragua's National Assembly approved a bill to grant a 50-year concession to finance and manage the project to the private Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Company (HKND Group) headed by Wang Jing, a Chinese billionaire.〔 〕〔 (【引用サイトリンク】 Nicaragua taps China for canal project ) 〕〔 (【引用サイトリンク】 Nicaragua signs memorandum with Chinese company to build a canal between two oceans ) 〕〔 〕〔 〕〔 〕 The concession can be extended for another 50 years once the waterway is operational.〔 〕 Construction of the canal, estimated to cost 40 to 50 billion US dollars, began in December 2014, with completion due within five years.〔 〕〔 〕〔 〕〔 〕 However a media report in November 2015 suggested the project would now be delayed or even possibly scuttled due to the personal fortune of Wang Jing having taken a sudden dive with the recent Chinese stock market rout.〔South China Morning Post 2015/11/28 "Chinese company postpones US$50 billion canal project in Nicaragua as chairman’s personal fortune tumbles"〕 The Nicaraguan government has failed to present reliable information about whether or not the project can be financed, thus casting doubt over whether or not it can be completed.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Doubts raised over Nicaraguan canal project as trade patterns shift )〕〔http://nicaraguadispatch.com/2015/01/watch-nicaraguan-student-challenge-sandinista-canal-rep-in-spain/〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Nicaragua Grand Canal a Road to Ruin )〕 Scientists are concerned about the environmental impact of the project, as Lake Nicaragua is Central America's key freshwater reservoir.〔 〕 Construction of a canal using the San Juan River as an access route to Lake Nicaragua was first proposed in the early colonial era. The United States abandoned plans to construct a waterway in Nicaragua in the early 20th century after it purchased the French interests in the Panama Canal. == History == (詳細はNew Spain conducted preliminary surveys. The routes suggested usually ran across Nicaragua, Panama, or the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico. The history of attempts to build a Nicaragua canal connecting the Caribbean Sea and thus the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean goes back at least to 1825 when the Federal Republic of Central America hired surveyors to study a route via Lake Nicaragua. Many other proposals have followed. Despite the operation of the Panama Canal that opened in 1914, interest in a Nicaragua canal has continued. With emergence of globalization, an increase in commerce and the cost of fuel, and the limitations of the Panama Canal, the concept of a second canal across the American land bridge became more attractive, and in 2006 the president of Nicaragua, Enrique Bolaños, announced the intent of Nicaragua to proceed with such a project.〔 〕 Even with the Panama Canal expansion project, expected at that time to be completed in 2015, some ships would be too big for the Panama Canal.〔 〕 On September 26, 2012, the Nicaraguan Government and the newly formed Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development Group (HKND) signed a memorandum of understanding that committed HKND to financing and building the "Nicaraguan Canal and Development Project".〔〔〔 (【引用サイトリンク】 The project ) 〕 HKND Group is a private enterprise.〔 〕 The Nicaraguan Government subsequently approved the ''Master Concession Agreement'' with HKND on June 13, 2013 thereby granting the company "the sole rights to the HKND Group to plan, design, construct and thereafter to operate and manage the Nicaragua Grand Canal and other related projects, including ports, a free trade zone, an international airport and other infrastructure development projects."〔 〕 The agreement will last for 50 years and is renewable for another 50 years.〔 〕 HKND will pay the Government of Nicaragua 10M USD annually for 10 years, and thereafter a portion of the revenue starting at 1% and increasing later.〔 〕 Stratfor indicated that after 10 years periodically ownership shares will be handed over to Nicaragua, so that after 50 years Nicaragua would be the majority shareholder.〔 〕 HKND Group has begun the study phase of development, to assess the technological and economic feasibility of constructing a canal in Nicaragua, as well as the potential environmental, social, and regional implications of various routes.〔 The canal and other associated projects would be financed by investors throughout the world and would generate jobs for Nicaragua and other Central American countries.〔 〕 Initial findings of the commercial analysis conducted by HKND Group indicate that the combined impact of growth in east–west trade and in ship sizes could provide a compelling argument for the construction of a second canal, substantially larger than the expanded Panama Canal, across Central America. Within 10–15 years, growth in global maritime trade is expected to cause congestion and delays in transit through the Panama Canal without a complementary route through the isthmus. Additionally, by 2030, the volume of trade that a Nicaragua Canal could serve will have grown by 240% from today.〔() 〕 On June 10, 2013, The Associated Press reported that the National Assembly's Infrastructure Committee unanimously voted in favor of the project, with four members abstaining.〔 〕 On June 13, 2013, Nicaragua's legislature passed the legislation granting the concession.〔 (【引用サイトリンク】 Home Page - HKND Group Nicaragua Canal Global Trade Project ) 〕 On June 15, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and the chairman of HKND Group, Wang Jing, signed the concession agreement giving HKND Group the rights to construct and manage the canal and associated projects for 50 years.〔 (【引用サイトリンク】 Nicaragua's Ortega, Chinese businessman sign canal agreement ) 〕 An HKND Group press release read, "HKND Group Successfully Obtains Exclusive Right to Develop and Manage Nicaragua Grand Canal for 100 Years".〔HKND Group Successfully Obtains Exclusive Right to Develop and Manage Nicaragua Grand Canal for 100 Years http://hknd-group.com/hknd-group-exclusive-right/〕 Under the exclusive contract, Wang can skip building the canal (and making any payments to Nicaragua) and instead simply operate lucrative tax-free side projects.〔 〕 Wang Jing, a Chinese billionaire who leads and wholly owns HKND Group, announced at a press briefing in June 2013 that he had successfully attracted global investors to the 40 billion USD project.〔 In January 2014 Wang Jing and President Ortega issued a statement that construction of the project would begin in December 2014, and that it would be completed in 2019.〔 〕〔 〕 On July 7, 2014, a 278 km (172.7 mi) route for the Nicaragua Canal was approved.〔 〕 The route starts from the mouth of the Brito river on the Pacific side, passes through Lake Nicaragua, and ends in the Punta Gorda river on the Caribbean. The proposed canal would be between 230 meters and 520 meters (754.6 feet and 1,706 feet) wide and 27.6 meters (90.6 feet) deep. The ''Toronto Star'' noted that Chinese engineer Dong Yung Song said the canal's design called for the creation of a artificial lake.〔 The water to fill the canal's giant locks would come from the artificial lake, not from Lake Nicaragua. Daniel Ortega whose government approved the agreement within one week in June 2013 sees the canal as the second phase of the Nicaraguan Revolution predicting that it will pull Nicaragua out of poverty and lead to the creation of 250,000 jobs.〔 The Moscow Times has reported that Russia will take part in the building of the Nicaragua Canal, viewing the project in part as an opportunity to pursue strategic interests in the region.〔 (【引用サイトリンク】 Russia Plans to Join Nicaragua Canal Project ) 〕 Construction was to begin on December 29, 2014,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Nicaragua launches construction of inter-oceanic canal )〕 and officially started a week earlier. However, due to Nicaragua’s volatile climate and seismic activity, feasibility concerns have emerged over the project’s future.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=If You Dig It, Will They Come? Nicaragua’s Controversial Canal )〕 In November, 2015 HKND announced that there would be a delay in the construction of locks and excavations until late 2016 in order to fine-tune the design. The Nicaragua canal project has seen business rivalry greatly intensify in late 2014. China Harbor Engineering Company, an experienced construction company, has offered to design, construct, and finance a fourth set of locks, in Panama, where it opened a regional headquarters, which if built to the width of the proposed Nicaragua Canal, would cut across far fewer kilometers, and still cost only 10 billion USD according to the firm. Panama is in a much better financial situation than Nicaragua to afford taking on such debt, and already has a stream of income from its existing canals.〔 〕 Furthermore, the Suez Canal, with financing already complete, has put pressure on Panama, by initiating an expansion in August 2014 to double transit capacity, and finished in August 2015, which is before the 3rd set of locks in Panama is completed.〔 (【引用サイトリンク】 Egypt's Expansion of the Suez Canal Could Ruin the Mediterranean Sea ) 〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Nicaragua Canal」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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