EXPANSION OF THE PANAMA CANAL CONTINUES

Monday, January 4th 2016. Last Saturday, the President of Panama, Juan Carlos Varela; announced that the expansion of the Panama Canal could start as soon as May of this New Year, a ceremony which will include high dignitaries of many countries in the world.

The expansion of the Panama Canal consists in the building of a third lane, as well as the widening and deepening of the existing channels so they will allow the new Neopanamax cargo ships to go through. This expansion is underway since 2007 and has as the objective, to triplicate it’s ship holding capacity to up to 14.000 containers.

The new channel is formed by a complex locks system; it will have 16 rolling gates; 8 in the Atlantic Ocean and 8 in the Pacific Ocean. Each gate weighs approximately 4.200 tons, adding up to a total of 50.000 tons.

The flooding process of the locks lasted 110 days, only in the Atlantic Zone; around 20 million cubic meters of water were required along with 76 valves to regulate the liquid flow. In the following video by Canaltv Youtube channel, the progress is detailed. The Panama Canal is a line of maritime traffic that allows communication between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. It is located at the narrowest part of the Panama Isthmus. Since it’s opening on August 15th of 1914, it was sped up maritime communication since it offers a shorter and relatively cheaper route. Plus, it was granted dynamism to commercial exchange, bolstering the economic growth of developed and growing countries.

This is why the Panamanian President expressed in front of the Parliament last Saturday that his country would once again hold a great event when the expansion of the channel is opened in the presence of important Chiefs of State and International Delegations; which is a motive for celebration and the joy of all Panamanians. He also expressed his wish for a Panama that transmits a message of peace, dialog and unity as part of its international policy.

Varela took the opportunity to make a call to action to the contractors of the expansion project, that they leave the legal complains in the hands of the competent organisms, and to focus on finishing their works; avoiding media differences or clashes that leave them in terrible standing. He reminded them that the priority of his government is to guarantee the protection and safety of all its citizens.

This call to action is probably due to the fact that in August of last year; a syndicate association denounced what for them was a possible attempt at privatizing the Canal’s facilities that have since 1999 been managed by the State. Said association issued a statement which explained this action was a clear violation of the Constitution, Panamanian Law and the Worker’s Collective Convention.