New Contract To Expand
Panama Canal Opens
PANAMA CITY (AFP) -
Bidding has opened on
the third contract to
expand the Panama
Canal's access to the
Pacific Ocean, the
Panama Canal Authority (ACP)
announced Tuesday.
The contract, to be
awarded through
competitive bidding at
the lowest price, will
be to excavate, remove
and dispose of eight
million cubic meters of
material from 6.7
kilometers (4.2 miles)
of the channel to the
Pacific.
The work also includes
the cleanup of
ammunition and
explosives from
approximately 190
hectares (470 acres) of
a former shooting range
used by the US military
during their presence in
the Central American
nation, the ACP said in
a statement.
"The expansion is
advancing in accordance
with the program," said
Jorge Luis Quijano, the
ACP's executive vice
president of engineering
and program
administration.
The canal expansion
project, begun in
September 2007 and
budgeted at 5.25 billion
dollars, is expected to
be completed by August
2014, 100 years after
completion of the
initial construction on
the 80-kilometer
(50-mile) canal
connecting two oceans.
The canal was built
1904-1914 by the United
States, which handed
control over to Panama
in December 1999.
The largest ships that
now use the canal carry
up to 5,000 containers,
but after the expansion
supertankers and ships
carrying as many as
12,000 containers will
be able to sail the
canal. |
