Panama Canal expansion: Too little, too late?

As delegates gathered in Panama City for the TOC Americas show, the Panama Canal was naturally the centre of attention and the subject of many urgent questions. Will it be ready on time? Will it be big enough? Which ports will benefit?

The conference opened with a speech from Jorge Quijano, the boss of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), who insisted that, despite leaks in the Cocoli locks, the canal would be ready by April 2016. He was followed by Oscar Bazan, the ACP’s marketing manager, who said he was tired of being asked by carriers whether April 2016 is a firm date. The answer is yes, he said. Another ACP employee told me that the expanded canal’s opening ceremony/transit is already being planned.

Apart from the ACP though, not a single person I spoke to, at the conference and at Panama’s ports, thought it would be ready on time. Even my taxi driver was skeptical. “Theres no way it will be ready by April” he said and I am inclined to agree. How can the locks start leaking without that causing a delay? That’s before we get into the lack of water in Gatun Lake and the question of how tugboats will safely help ships transit, which the unions will have something to say about.