Since it first surfaced in 2013, the ambitious project, with an estimated cost of $50 billion, has been a source of controversy in both Nicaragua and throughout the region. The Nicaraguan government and HKND, the Chinese firm responsible for canal construction, said in December 2014 that digging had commenced. Still, serious doubts about HKND’s ability to finance and build the canal persist. To what extent are Nicaraguans expecting much progress on canal construction in the coming years? How does the population feel about the many cited benefits and drawbacks of the so-called Panama Canal rival? To what extent is Nicaraguan civil society mobilizing in opposition to the canal project?

Speakers

Sofía Montenegro
Executive Director, Centro de Investigaciones para la Comunicación

Pedro Álvarez
Chair, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University

Luis Carlos Boub
Center for Justice and International Law

Moderator

Manuel Orozco
Senior Fellow, Inter-American Dialogue