The Panama Maritime Authority extended for a 25-year term and in favor of the Panama Ports Company, the contract for the development, construction, operation, administration and management of container terminals.
The Board of Directors of the Panama Maritime Authority declared itself in permanent session as of May 27, 2021, for the purpose of analyzing compliance with Contract Law No.
After Panama's National Assembly approved a legislative bill that sets the minimum wage for workers in the maritime industry at $4.15 per hour, local businessmen have expressed their disagreement.
The document approved in third debate, establishes in its articles that workers of concessionary companies, contractors and subcontractors of ports and maritime transport terminals will earn a minimum wage of $4.15 per hour throughout the national territory, informed the National Assembly on April 12, 2021.
Due to the imbalance in world trade flows, shipping lines have changed their routes and prefer to move empty containers to Asia, a situation that generates shortages and causes increases in freight rates and raw material prices.
In this scenario of new commercial reality, the operating costs of maritime freight have been impacted, since due to the restrictions imposed in several countries around the world, containers have been stranded.
The Panama Maritime Authority tenders the operation services of the Balboa Shipyard facilities, which includes the rehabilitation, development and administration of the site, for a 20-year term.
Panama Government Purchase 2021-2-03-0-08-08-LV-008104:
"The Balboa Shipyard, dating back more than 100 years, located in the Pacific, is the only facility in Panama and in the entire region that has three (3) dry docks, one with the necessary dimensions to service Panamax vessels.
Mandatory use of low-sulfur fuel by ships, shortage of containers and priority for medical supplies and vaccines will push up sea and air freight costs.
In order to ensure the supply of drinking water supply to half of the Panamanian population for the next 50 years, achieve water sustainability in its operations and guarantee its competitiveness, the Panama Canal will invest $2 billion.
In Honduras, tugging services are being tendered for the execution of docking and undocking of ships, for the maritime terminals of Cortés, Omoa, Tela and San Lorenzo.
Honduras Government purchase LPI-ENP-01-2020:
"Consists of providing docking and undocking services in Puerto Cortés and Omoa with a minimum of 2,400 operations between two tugboats in the twelve months, redocking service in the Port of Tela that includes time for the vessel to be kept and the crossing.
Currently, transporting goods by sea between Central American countries can increase freight costs by at least 60% compared to the land option, which represents an obstacle to changing the way goods are transferred in the region.
As a result of the closure of the Penas Blancas customs crossing, on the border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua, some businessmen in the region had to resort to the sea route in order to deliver their orders.
After the Quetzal Port Company of Guatemala and the Port of Chiapas, Mexico, signed an agreement for strategic commercial promotion, it is expected that in May the short sea route will begin to operate.
The potential offered by the Port of Chiapas as a logistic node for commercial exchange from and to Central America, as well as with other international markets, makes it a strategic place for the promotion of the Short Sea Shipping (SSS) project with Guatemala and eventually with other Mesoamerican countries, informed the Mexican Secretariat of Communications and Transport (SCT).
Between January and November 2019, the national port system continued to record positive numbers, as 85 thousand metric tons of cargo were mobilized, a figure 11% higher than that reported for the same period in 2018.
The General Comptroller of the Republic reported that only last November there was a 10% year-on-year increase in cargo movement, rising from 7.5 million metric tons in the eleventh month of 2018 to 8.2 million metric tons in the same period in 2019.
The Panama Chamber of Commerce requested the Panama Canal Authority to postpone the start of collection of the fee for the use of fresh water in the Canal, which would begin to be paid on February 15, 2020.
On January 13, the Panama Canal Authority announced that this year "... the value of water will be incorporated into the line of other maritime services through a charge for fresh water, which will depend on the availability of the resource at the time of the vessel's transit. The freshwater charge is applicable to all vessels over 125 feet in length that transit the Canal:
Between January and October 2019, the national port system mobilized 77 thousand metric tons of cargo, a figure 11% higher than that reported in the same period of 2018.
According to figures from the General Comptroller of the Republic only last October reported a 3% year-on-year increase in cargo movement, rising from 7.5 million metric tons in the tenth month of 2018 to 7.8 million metric tons in the same period of 2019.
Between January and September 2019, in the national port system of Panama were mobilized 69 thousand metric tons of cargo, a figure 12% higher than that reported in the same period of 2018.
According to figures from the General Comptroller of the Republic only last September reported a 29% year-on-year increase in cargo movement, rising from 7 million metric tons in the ninth month of 2018 to 9.1 million metric tons in the same period of 2019.
Water and sanitation works in Panama, improvements to a seaport and improvements to a bridge are part of the investments planned for the coming months in the region.
The interactive system "Construction in Central America", compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData, includes an up to date list of public and private construction projects that are planned to be built in the coming months.
After the cargo movement in Panama grew 2% in 2018 compared to 2017, in the first eight months of 2019 the volume transported totaled 60.1 million metric tons, 10% more than in the same period last year.
The latest report of the General Comptroller of the Republic details that only last August reported a 22% year-on-year increase in cargo movement, rising from 6.7 million metric tons in the eighth month of 2018 to 8.2 million metric tons in the same period of 2019.