Panama receives bids for third excavation project

The Expansion Programme will construct a new lane of traffic along the Panama Canal through the construction of a new set of locks which will double capacity and allow more traffic and longer, wider ships.

The contract encompasses the excavation, removal and disposal of 8m cu m of material which will further reduce Paraíso (Paradise) Hill from 46 m to 27.5 m above sea level. It also calls for the construction of approximately 2.5 kms of access and the clearing of 190 hectares (470 acres) of land bearing munition and explosive remnants from former US military training in Panama.

Ultimately, when this and the fourth contract are completed, a critical access channel linking the new Pacific locks with the Canal’s existing Gaillard Cut (the narrowest stretch of the Panama Canal) will have been created.