OREANDA-NEWS. Hong Kong-based infrastructure developer HKND Group has given a contract to Australian mining consultants CSA Global to conduct an aerial geological survey of the planned route for the Nicaragua canal project.

The survey will cover a 10km-wide area along the 276km proposed canal route connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, and the 2km-wide circumference of Lake Nicaragua. CSA Global will begin surveying in September and is scheduled to complete the work by March 2016. It will include aerial mapping of topography, photography and geophysical and geological data gathering.

HKND is the developer of the $50bn canal that Nicaragua plans as a competitor to the Panama Canal. The company says the new canal will be designed to carry ships larger than those that can now be accommodated by either the expanded Suez or Panama canals.

The Nicaraguan government gave HKND a 50-year concession in 2013 to finance and manage the canal project. HKND said earlier that construction would start by the end of 2015.

The project has been criticized by local and foreign environmental groups that say it threatens rare, local wildlife, could reduce water quality and affect public health. Some have also questioned the economic feasibility of the project. The Nicaraguan government and HKND have rejected the claims.