by Diego Cupolo, Upside Down World

Exactly 100 years after its inauguration, the Panama Canal may soon become one of two waterways linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In a move that would alter world commerce, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Chinese telecoms billionaire Wang Jing have announced plans to start construction on a $40-billion canal across Nicaragua this December.

"Central America is at the center of North-South and East-West global trade flows, and we believe Nicaragua provides the perfect location for a new international shipping and logistics hub," Wang said in a press release. "Global shipping demands the efficiency and cost competitiveness of increasingly larger ships, and we believe this project will serve that still unmet need."

The proposed waterway would lead ships into Lago de Nicaragua, the nation's largest fresh water source, and require approximately 120 miles of excavation through sparsely populated jungles in the Nicaragua's southeastern region, as well as excavation on the Pacific Coast.