date:Jun 09, 2013
A Chinese company has been awarded a 100-year, $40 billion contract to build and operate a canal across Nicaragua, competing with the nearly 100-year-old Panama Canal.
The president of the countrys national assembly, Rene Nuez, announced the $40bn (26bn) project, which will reinforce Beijings growing influence on global trade and weaken US dominance over the key shipping route between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
According to a bill submitted to congress last year, Nicaraguas canal will b