The Canal Authority has started a process of measuring and analyzing the current and projected demand for the inter-oceanic route in order to determine when to start the expansion.
The Panama Canal Authority has already formed a group of experts to carry out analysis and technical studies for the future expansion of the Canal, which will depend directly on the behaviour of demand over the next few years.In the first year of operation, vessels larger than those initially planned have passed through the third set of locks. At the moment, according to Jorge Luis Quijano, the third set of locks generates 32% of revenues.
The new canal enlarges the volume of ships that transit through it, as well as the opportunities for growth in a country whose economy was already booming.
EDITORIAL
As Jorge Quijano, chief executive of the Panama Canal Authority notes, the new Canal will open up new global trade routes.This is particularly true for cargo which goes through ports in the eastern United States, including those on the Gulf Coast.The opportunity is clear for the transport of liquefied natural gas(LNG), which the United States produces in abundance. According to Martin Houston, co - founder of Tellurian, developer of LNG projects, so far only 7% of tankers carrying LNG to Asia pass through the Panama Canal, a figure that will rise to 80% with the expanded Canal.The reason is clear:"A tanker loaded with liquefied natural gas in the US Gulf Coast and destined for Asian markets could shorten its travel distance by about 5,000 nautical miles."
The trade fair in Panama starts with 120 buyers in Central America and the Caribbean in the Atlapa Convention Center.
In 2015, Expocomer managed transactions totalling $124 million and for the 2016 edition the organizers expect a similar or higher figure, as it has now sold out, according to statements made to Anpanama.com by Raul Delvalle, President of the Organizing Committee of Expocomer 2016.
The accusation of blackmail hanging over the Spanish construction company Sacyr in its proceedings related to the Canal expansion, casts a shadow over all firms of the same nationality.
An article printed in Spanish media outlet Invertia.com says "concerns of Spanish employers established in Panama have increased after the Canal Administrator Jorge Luis Quijano, censored the behavior of the construction firm Sacyr."
The construction consortium has not carried out its threat to stop construction work at the end of the prescribed period, while Canal Administration prepares to take on the project.
And on Monday there were revelations of another proposal by consortium Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC) for the continuation of the work, which was that the parties in conflict co-finance the so-called contingency costs, while they wait for a decision from the arbitration proceedings established in the contract, over who should pay.