Between 2024 and 2025, Nicaragua spent more than 12.5 million córdobas on the failed project to build an interoceanic canal through the national territory. The megaproject was approved in 2012 and announced with fanfare shortly after. Beyond a trail inaugurated in Rivas, and the spending of thousands of córdobas on studies and promotional tours, the project that would generate thousands of jobs, millions of dollars in investments, and GDP growth unmatched in the country’s historyit just never started. By 2026, the regime plans to disburse 9.26 million córdobas.
In 2024, the Grand Canal Authority was allocated C$8.3 million, and it spent almost all of it. The 2025 Budget Settlement Report shows that the allocation for that year was even larger: almost 9 million córdobas, but they only spent 4.25 million córdobas. However, the dictatorship insists: the entity has an allocation of 9.25 million in the General Budget of the Republic for 2026. All in current expenses, that is, salaries and office expenses.
“Ortega always dreams of the Interoceanic Canal project,” says Juan Sebastián Chamorro, former vice minister of Finance and Public Credit, from exile. The economist visualizes three other reasons why, when the dictator understood that he had failed his bet on Chinese businessman Wang Jing“it only canceled the concession, but did not eliminate the Law that shaped the project.”
The first is “in case the opportunity arises to present it to an investor. Probably Chinese.” The second, “to give employment to some of his loyalists, so that they continue to live off the resources of the public sector through the budget.” The third reason to keep him alive “is to have a megaproject to offer his base, every time there is a need to sell them smoke.”
Who are behind?
On May 8, 2024, the National Assembly approved Law 1203. This legal text reformed Law 800, which established the legal regime of the canal project and created the Grand Interoceanic Canal Authority. One of the changes that 1203 established is who the people leading the failed project are now.
In that sense, in article 10 of the reformed law It is established that the management of the Grand Canal Authority will be headed by three officials. The most important is the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, retired Major General Óscar Mojica Obregón, who presides over that entity.
The vice presidency was assigned to a presidential delegate for the Caribbean Coast, a position currently held by Lumberto Campbell. Finally, it was decided that the secretariat will be exercised by the Advisor for Investments, Trade and International Cooperation, of the Secretariat of the Presidency, headed by Laureano Ortega Murillo.
A few months later, in November 2024, dictator Daniel Ortega presented the failed interoceanic project to a group of Chinese businessmen. The presentation included something new: a change in route. Now, the road would no longer cross Lake Cocibolca, but would pass through Lake Xolotlán, to exit in Corinto, instead of Rivas.
The Grand Canal Authority is not known to be leading any activity that aims to fulfill its mission. They were not even mentioned in the announcement that a road would be built connecting to the projected port of Bluefields, which would be the origin of the project’s new route. Until now the funds are spent on an entity that is in practice a ghost.
Nearly C$3.1 billion in Chinese loans
The 2025 Budget Settlement Report has other items that also connect with China. These assignments refer to the beginning of compliance with the obligations contracted by two companies from that country towards Nicaragua: China CAMC Engineering Co., Ltd (CAMCE), and China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC).
In the first case, 3,099 of the 3,195 million córdobas supposedly contributed by CAMCE were executed. Additionally, the execution of another 105 million córdobas of a project planned to be executed (and mostly financed) by CCCC is mentioned.
These credits are part of the debt acquired by the regime with Chinese companies in such onerous conditionsthat have increased the external debtas revealed in a report by CONFIDENTIAL that questioned the convenience of Chinese solidarity with Nicaragua.
The project that executed the most resources is the Punta Huete airport: 1,750.4 million córdobas, according to the document prepared and published by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (MHCP). That represents just a fraction (31.3%) of the 5,585 million that, according to the 2025 Budget project, were planned to finance this work in the completed year.
The Reconstruction, Expansion and Improvement of the Punta Huete International Airport (its formal name), is a work supposed to be financed with a loan of 440.6 million dollars, although the interests and commissions will make it the country ends up paying almost USD 800 million. The work is in charge of CAMCE.
By 2026, it is projected to invest 7,288.1 million córdobas (about 199 million dollars) in the Punta Huete airport. The General Budget of the Republic does not specify the origin of the funds, nor what percentage will come from external loans, nor how much from the Treasury of the Republic.
The second (executed 898.4 million) is the project to improve SINAPRED. The majority of the resources (824 million) are to acquire equipment to be used in response to emergencies. Another 42.7 million are to build the building where the System will operate, and the remaining 31.4 million are to design the System itself.
The third component, in which 450.4 million córdobas were invested in 2025, is the construction of three spheres to store liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The loan approved by the National Assembly is 194 million yuan, equivalent at that time to 27.3 million dollars.
The remaining 105 million were used in the preparation of studies and designs to build a solar energy generating plant in El Hato (Ciudad Darío, Matagalpa).
