While the attention of the media is on Crimea., Mr. Putin may be extending his grip closer, much closer to home.’
Does the world really need another canal connecting the Pacific to the Atlantic?
In June 2013, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega granted a a50 year concession to a mysterious Chinese financier, Wang Jing of Hong Kong. Mr. Wang is supposedly building a rival to the Panama Canal. Construction of the Nicaraguan sea level canal is due to begin in December 2014. Now it appears that the project may have a secret partner, Russia.
Many engineers think the project is a sham, intended actually to help Mr. Wang exploit other resources in Nicaragua. The mystery financier has interests in gold and diamonds in Cambodia and Burma, and, according to his company’s website (Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development Group (HKND), sits on the board of 20 companies. With a personal fortune of $1.4 billion, Mr. Wang says he is prepared to spend as much as $300 million of his own fortune on the Nicaragua project.
Unlike many such projects, the Chinese government is not apparently involved. However, Wang is chief executive of Beijing Xinwei, a government-backed telecoms manufacturer and it is hard to imagine that HKND, a firm with no proven record in large scale engineering projects, would have landed the concession if it weren’t backed by Beijing.
All of this mystery raises the disturbing project that Mr. Putin’s next move could be in our own backyard!