The regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo continues to sell the illusion of the Grand Interoceanic Canal, a project that in 2013 was awarded as a concession to the supposed Chinese businessman. Wang Jing, but on May 8, 2024, the regulations that granted this concession to the Asian investor were annulled through the repeal of Law 840.
In an interview with an official media outlet, the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, Óscar Mojica, who now serves as president of the Canal Commission, stated that the Ortega plan “is not a dream, it is a reality, we must take it seriously. responsibility and determination.
«We are not going to sell illusions, We speak with facts and realities. We do not want to compromise criteria, we must determine with all its aspects the viability of an interoceanic project,” Mojica stated on Thursday, May 16.
Related news: Opponents fear that Ortega will hand over the concession of the interoceanic canal to China
The minister stated that “we have no doubt that the Nicaragua Interoceanic Canal is the most profitable project that our country has known throughout its history, in addition to being the one with the greatest economic and social impact,” without referring, of course, to to those same promises that they have spread for more than a decade, without there being even a minimum of visible work.
With the construction of the Grand Canal, Mojica hopes to “generate large sources of employment, diversify the training of human talent to be able to respond to the needs of this new challenge and do a very responsible job of ecological sustainability, preservation of the environment and the great rivers. “It’s going to be a huge positive impact.”
«We have large basins and water reserves that already exist. You don’t have to do much to preserve them. “Just avoid deforestation, respect the environment and let nature, with the support of good Nicaraguans, reforest and recover the quality of their water basins,” said the state official, again, trying to play the neophyte about the immense deforestation business that the dictatorship itself has, through companies like Alba Forestal, a predator of Nicaraguan forest wealth and which is part of the Sandinista business holding company, created with Venezuelan cooperation.
«We know that this great interoceanic canal project has enormous potential to transform global trade and make Nicaragua an important center. It is a desired project, longed for by the vast majority of our people,” said Mojica, ignoring that many activists, environmentalists and farmers have protested for years against the idea.
According to Mójica’s statements, financing the project, estimated at around $50 million, “remains a challenge,” although a new “strategic partnership” with China offers new opportunities.
With the support of the Asian giant, the Nicaraguan dictatorship hopes for “determined progress towards the completion of the Grand Interoceanic Canal,” a project that promises to transform global trade and accelerate national development.
About the new reforms
On May 7, the Ortega regime ordered with “an urgency” to reform and repeal laws 800 and 840, respectively, which annul the concession granted to the Chinese businessman Wang Jing, the “disappeared” partner of that project.
The Ortega official assured that the reforms to both laws “mark a new stage in development.” “This reform is not a start from scratch, but a continuation of historic efforts, conducting studies and developing a solid infrastructure,” he commented.
Related news: Ortega repeals the interoceanic canal law and eliminates the concession to the Chinese Wang Jing
According to Mojica, the reform is framed “in the need to update and modernize the laws to maintain optimal management in the face of rapid global changes and the future of Nicaragua.” This reform also reduced the number of members of the Grand Canal authority from six to three, as the Minister of Transport explained that “in this great opportunity, decisions can be made by simple majority.”
Among these members is Laureano Ortega Murillo, the “favorite son” of the dictatorial couple, who serves as the secretary of the board and advisor for Investments, Trade and International Cooperation of the Secretariat of the Presidency of Nicaragua.
