NICARAGUA – Construction will begin December 22 on a giant canal in Nicaragua that will join the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

The International Business Times is reporting that executives from the Chinese contractor tasked with building the canal have announced the groundbreaking. 

The $50 billion project is projected to be built within five years with the target of becoming operational by 2020, according to Global Construction.

This new canal, which will span 278 kilometers (172 miles), will be longer, deeper and wider than the Panama Canal.

According to the International Business Times, government officials have hailed the canal as a way to lift millions of Nicaraguans from poverty.  Opponents to the canal have voiced concern with the impact on that country’s largest freshwater source, Lake Cocibolca, also known as Lake Nicaragua.

The construction will begin with the building of a port on the Pacific, which will eventually pass through Lake Nicaragua on its way to the Atlantic.

The project is expected to include two ports, an airport, a resort and an economic zone for electricity and other companies, according to Global Construction.  There will also be a 600-meter bridge that will cross over the canal.

Opponents are currently campaigning in the Parliament to invalidate the law that gave the canal concession to start.  To repeal the law, they would need a majority vote in the National Assembly.

Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we continue to track this ongoing story.