The committee of government officials, businessmen, and academics approved a 172-mile route from the mouth of the Brito river on the Pacific side to the Punto Gorda river on the Caribbean that was proposed by executives from the HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co Ltd (HKND Group).

The Hong Kong-based HKND group, which is funding the project, is headed by Chinese lawyer Wang Jing, who also heads Chinese company Xinwei Telecom Enterprise Group.

The idea is ridiculously ambitious. The waterway would be more than three times as long as the 48-mile Panama Canal, and one of the largest infrastructure projects ever.

The canal will be between 755 feet to 1,706 feet wide and 90 feet deep, according to HKND engineer Dong Yunsong.

There are also social concerns: The canal would pass through Lake Nicaragua, Central America's largest lakes and an important fresh-water source for the country. And the the water used by the canal's locks could seriously deplete the lake.