Nicaragua has reportedly awarded a Chinese company a 100-year concession to build a canal linking the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans across the Central American nation, with a capacity that dwarfs that of the Panama Canal.

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The Nicaraguan government of Daniel Ortega said the canal should be able to allow passage to mega-container ships that are more than double the size of the vessels that will be able to pass through the Panama Canal after its ongoing $5.2 billion expansion, according to The Guardian.

The name of the Chinese company was not released.

But the Guardian observed that the proposed 178-mile canal would have "profound geopolitical ramifications" and "reinforce Beijing's growing influence on global trade and weaken U.S. dominance over the key shipping route between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans."