A YEAR ago, to much fanfare, a Chinese consortium planning on building a canal across Nicaragua to rival the century-old one in neighboring Panama started initial work with a target completion date of 2020.

    Today, however, there is no further sign of progress beyond the dirt paths Hong Kong Nicaragua Development Group (HKND) carved out near the mouth of the Brito River, meant to be the Pacific Ocean gateway to the US$50 billion canal.

    HKND has admitted work had been delayed, with excavation pushed off to the end of next year. It blamed the lateness of an environmental study that was approved by authorities only in November.

    In the town of Rivas, located near the opening of the Brito River, unease and anxiety has taken hold.

    Although the government has promised its 200,000 inhabitants the canal would bring them lasting prosperity, rural folk on the outskirts fear only they will be uprooted to make way for the massive project.

    “If the canal comes, where will be settle?” asked Ruth Campos, a resident in her 60s in the town of Las Lajas.

    She is one of 27,000 Nicaraguans who are to be relocated because of the construction of the canal that aims to accept passage of 3,500 cargo ships a year, according to HKND.

    The consortium was in 2013 given a concession to build and run the Nicaragua canal for 50 years, renewable for another half century.

    The design for the manmade waterway calls for a canal 278 kilometers long, 280 meters wide and 30 meters deep.

    (SD-Agencies)