Nicaragua’s left-wing government and a Chinese-born telecom pagnate have signed a 50 year concession to build a second canal from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Chinese-speakng surveyors backed by Nicaraguan soliders and police have begun a survey of the proposed site.

The Nicaraguan Academy of Science has asked for an environmental impact study on Lake Nicaragua, through which the planned canal will pass.

The case for the canal may not rest only on tolls and jobs for Nicaragua.  China may see this as a strategic move to the Atlantic.