The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) received 6 complaints from Fomento de Contratas y Construcciones (FCC), the Mexican company ICA and the Costa Rican Construction company MECO, who were awarded the contract for the last access tranche to the the Pacific linking to the third set of locks with the Corte Culebra.

"In October an arbitration process was started for the main complaint by the FCC- ICA- MECO consortium, which was a demand for $44 million and an extension of time on the date of the end of the contract ( ... ), the contractor based its claim on allegedly different site conditions, contract modifications, interruptions to work and late responses from the ACP ... " .

The project is 73% complete and according to the agreement, from the date of the order to proceed, the consortium has 1228 days to build the work, a deadline which will be reached on August 2, 2013.

Source: Prensa.com

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From the Panama Canal Authority press release:

December 12th, 2018. Contractor of the Design and Construction Contract for the Third Set of Locks of the Panama Canal Expansion Program, Grupo Unidos por el Canal, S.A.

Panama Canal Strike Ends

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Workers have accepted the wage proposal made by the ICA-FCC-MECO consortium and resumed excavating the last stretch of the access channel to the Pacific.

After almost a week of work stoppage in the last stretch of riverbed on the access channel through the Pacific, workers agreed to resume work after negotiating a series of agreements with the consortium made up of the Mexican Ingenieros Civiles Asociados, the Spanish Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas and the Costa Rican firm Meco.

PCA Awards $267 Million Dry Excavation Contract

January 2010

The consortium FCC-ICA-MECO won the second-largest contract of the Panama Canal expansion project.

This contract comprises excavating a 6.1 kilometer waterway that will connect the third set of locks with the Culebra Cut.

From Prensa.com: "FCC-ICA-MECO submitted the lowest priced offer in the bidding process ($267.798.795), and complied with the requirements imposed by the Panama Canal Authority".

Canal Excavation Contract for $267.7 Million

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Such is the amount proposed by the lowest-priced bid, by consortium Fomento de Construcciones y Contrata (FCC), Mexico's ICA and MECO.

Other companies bidding for the contract include Brazil's Odebrecth, Belgium's Jan de Nul, and the consortium Impregilo, Sacyr and Cusa (ISC).