Development will be one of Central America’s largest ever investments.
Work on a new Central American mega-waterway will start later this year, according to a report in The Telegraph.
Backers of the project – estimated to cost $40bn (£24bn) – say the 170-mile shipping route from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean, traversing Nicaragua, will take five years to complete.
Funding for the project is being led by Chinese telecoms billionaire Wang Jing, whose HKND Group won a licence for the development last year.
In a statement Mr Wang and the Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said canal construction work will begin as planned in December 2014.
The project, which would traverse Lake Nicaragua, also includes an oil pipeline, a railroad and two airports.
Environmental concerns have been raised about the freshwater expanse however Mr Mr Wang told The Telegraph that protecting the area was a key priority.
“I take all responsibility for any environmental damage. I have told my employees that if we make a mistake on this front, we will be dishonoured in the history textbooks of Nicaragua,” he said.
The development will be one of Central America’s largest-ever investments and is expected to break Panama’s monopoly on shipping through Central America.
The canal’s own extension has been repeatedly delayed.
