Canal expansion five year update

\”The Panama Canal Expansion Programme is moving forward at a good pace (and) it has made positive contributions to Panama´s economy such as direct employment, investments, knowledge and technological transfer,” said Panama Canal Administrator/CEO Jorge Quijano.

To date, three of the four dry excavation projects have been completed and the fourth project had reached 67% by August 31. The dredging of the Pacific and Atlantic entrances and of the Gatun Lake are advancing as scheduled with progress reaching 92%, 98%, and 76% respectively.

The locks’ design and construction has reached 31%. The locks’ gates are being fabricated in Italy and the first four gates should be shipped to Panama during Q1 2013 and the last four should arrive during Q1 2014. Concurrently the valves are being fabricated in Korea and delivery of valve components to Panama has been ongoing for some time now and are being incorporated into the lock structure.