Investment in the construction of new ports is essential for a country like Panama, whose economy depends heavily on the logistics sector, to continue to compete globally in the coming years.
Since nearly one third of Panama's Gross Domestic Product is created by the logistics sector, the development of this productive activity is of great importance for the country.
The Social Security Fund of Panama granted the Consorcio Salud en Control the contract for the service of storage, distribution and final dispensation of medicines at the national level, for a period of four years.
According to official information published on April 7, the winner of the tender was the business consortium composed by the companies Intercontinental de Medicamentos, S.A. de CV and PMG Logistic Corp.
Faced with the advance of the coronavirus epidemic, businessmen in the region are asking citizens to follow only official recommendations to avoid giving way to disorienting versions that only contribute to generate instability and uncertainty.
In Central America, two countries have registered people infected with the virus. Costa Rica was the first to report cases of COVID-19 (also known as coronavirus) and so far the nation has registered nine infected people. Panama made its first case official on 9 March.
A 7.7-kilometer logistic corridor that will serve for the mobilization of cargo in the Pacific sector was inaugurated, which will serve ports, industrial parks, factories and distribution centers.
Trucks using the Canal Logistic Corridor must be affiliated with the Cargo Pass system, similar to the one operating in the North and South Corridors and the Colón-Panama Highway.
Because Colombian ports have a lower operating cost base than Panamanians, the South American country competes to appropriate the logistics business in the region.
Until a while ago, Panama led the logistics operations in the region, however, there are some signs that indicate that this situation could be changing, since the growth in the movement of maritime cargo in the country has reported a slowdown in recent years.
Investing in infrastructure that improves the connection between its main ports is one of the most determining factors for Panama to recover the competitiveness that is beginning to lose regionally and globally.
The Panama Maritime Chamber (CMP) presented its strategy "Maritime Vision Country 2019-2024", in which it analyzes that although the Canal was expanded and remains competitive at the port level in the region, the country needs to improve in terms of institutionality, human resources, infrastructure, processes and technology, to continue giving tools to the logistics sector to continue its development.
Companies from the logistics sector will be meeting in Panama City on October 18 and 19 to exhibit their products and services and take part in business conferences.
The event is being organized by the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama (Cciap) in conjunction with the National Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation (Senacyt), and will be held at the ATLAPA Convention Center.
The Nestlé company invested $20 million in Panama in its new distribution center and $75 million in a purchasing hub.
According to representatives from Nestlé, the new distribution center is located in Parque Sur and the investment allowed them to increase their logistics capacity by 40%, and the shopping hub is located in Costa del Este. From there a group of buyers will acquire different categories of Nestlé products for all countries.
On April 18 and 19, companies from the logistics and multimodal transport sector in Nicaragua will be gathering together to exhibit their products and services and explore business opportunities.
The fair is being organized by the Ibero-American Institute for Business Strengthening (Inife), and will take place at the Camino Real hotel in Managua.
From October 18 to 20, logistics and foreign trade companies will be gathering together in Panama City to take part in conferences on issues related to the sector.
The event, which will take place at the ATLAPA Convention Center, will involve companies and consultants in logistics and foreign trade. Expo Logística Panama will be held in an exhibition area with 5,360m² of space, where about 150 local and foreign companies will be taking part in more than 250 modules with products and services geared towards the area of logistics and multimodal transport.
The purpose of the multimodal logistics center now under construction is to connect the primary customs zone with the Colon area under the same tax regime, and the commercial areas of Coco Solo and Coco Solito.
The construction, being carried out by Constructora Urbana (Cusa SA) must be completed in 18 months.The project consists of building the entrance and exit building to the multimodal logistics center on Randolph Avenue, and the objective is to unify the primary customs zone with the area of Colon under the same tax regime as the expansion areas developed over the last 20 years in Coco Solo and Coco Solito.
The Panama Canal Authority expects to tender at the end of the year several logistics projects to be developed in 1,200 hectares of land in the canal zone.
The goal of the Panama Canal Authority is to generate value-added services around the extended canal, and according to the head the institution, Jorge Luis Quijano, several state companies from China have already expressed interest in participating in the development of these projects, which could be estimated at $1 billion and would be developed over a period of five to seven years.
The Asian country believes that the improvement in the country's logistical conditions as a result of the Canal expansion, represents an opportunity to set up a distribution platform geared towards Latin America.
"... 'Panama already serves as a bridge, or as a window for the transit of Chinese goods into Latin America, and I think with the logistics development in Panama this role will increase more and will be made more use of by Chinese enterprises'" said the permanent representative at the Office of Chinese-Panamanian Business Development, Wang Weihua, according to Laestrella.com.pa.
On October 18 in San Salvador, logistics companies will be gathering together to discuss issues related to new models of distribution and logistics.
Among the topics to be discussed at the event organized by GS1 are Collaborative Logistics, technology as an enabler of value networks, Visibility in value networks, the challenges of the digital world, innovation, mobile technologies and networking, sustainability and Triple Baseline (Money - People - Planet), among other things.
Ransa group plans to invest $4 million in the construction of a cold chamber in Guatemala and is preparing to expand its warehouses in El Salvador.
The Central American subsidiary of the Peruvian operator Ransa is also assessing whether the conditions are right to develop a cold chain in Honduras.In the case of the investments planned for Guatemala, it has been reported that the plan is to invest $4 million in total"... 2,000 positions, where there will be specialized containers forrefrigerated and frozen products. In addition, they will build a distribution center for dry goods, thereby increasing their ability to benefit customers. "