Increased cargo traffic, improving the availability of water for the passage of ships and construction of the rolling cargo port, are some of the challenges the authorities of the interoceanic route face for the coming years.
Representatives from the Panama Canal Authority reported that the levels of traffic currently being reported have already reached the figures expected to be reached in 2020.
Among the Canal Authority's investment plans for 2019 is construction of a second dump for the management of the reservoirs, and the purchase of a floating dock and crane.
The budget approved by the Assembly for next year includes specific items requested by the Canal Authority (ACP), which project several investments to improve the performance of the interoceanic highway.
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 Panama Canal Authority insists on the great commercial potential a port in Corozal Oeste would have, and announced that it will be re-evaluating alternatives to develop it.
From a statement issued by the Canal Authority:
The Board of Directors of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has authorized the Canal Administration to carry out the corresponding evaluations and to present new terms and conditions to allow for the development and operation of a container port in Corozal Oeste.
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.
New businesses in the segment of small shipping companies, and competitiveness in the maritime and logistics regional market is what the country is missing out on because of the delay in the construction of a new terminal.
One of the main points in favor of the construction of a port in Corozal is the business that could be generated in the segment of smaller shipping companies, which, according to entrepreneurs in this sector, have difficulty accessing the services they need because larger shipping companies are generallygiven priority attention at major ports.
On November 8 Panamanian entrepreneurs will be meeting to discuss the project for the construction and concession of a port in Corozal and its impact on the economy.
From a statement issued by the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama:
Panama, November 01, 2016. -In order to analyze the diversification of opportunities for maximum use of the expanded Canal, the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture in Panama will be holding a national forum in connection with the proposal for a port construction in Corozal, on Tuesday, November 8, which will take place at the guild´s headquarters.
There has been an increases in traffic of neopanamax ships, which now produce revenues of $68 million, as well as extra maritime services that used to go through the Suez Canal.
An article on Prensa.com reports that "...During the first two months of operation of the expanded Canal 130 neopanamax ships were reported to have passed through, most of them container ships, bringing in total revenues of $68 million.Since the expanded Canal opened on June 26, business has been growing, with 2 new services coming from the Suez Canal, said the Canal Administrator Jorge Luis Quijano."
In order to take advantage of the connectivity offered by the Canal and its strategic location, the rules for logistics and port industries must be improved and modernized.
The infrastructure and technology is in place, but a better legal framework is needed in order to take advantage of the connectivity and advantages of the Canal and the location of Panama in the Latin American region.
The Chinese giant Cosco Shipping Group has announced new business strategies, which involve the passage of ships carrying 14,000 TEUs through the Canal and transshipments on the Pacific coast.
The interest of Cosco Shipping Group in transporting goods through the country confirms once again the need for Panama to accelerate approval of the project to build a new port terminal in Corozal, and with thesame benefits as offered in other ports.
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."
APM Terminals BV, Terminal Link, PSA International Pte., Ltd. and Terminal Investment Limited, S.A. are the four port operators shortlisted to participate in the construction and operation of a container transshipment port in Corozal.
From a statement issued by the Panama Canal Authority:
A total of four bidding companies were pre-qualified for the concession for the design, construction, development and operation of the commercial activity to run a container transshipment port in the area of West Corozal.
As soon as the third set of locks starts operating, the Canal Authority plans to develop logistics and industrial projects in the thousand hectares located west of the waterway, near the former Rodman base.
Building a roll-on roll-of port, an industrial area and an area to store refrigerated cargo are part of the recommendations that Antea Group made to the Panama Canal Authority, after it requested a study to determine the feasibility of developing the area. The main objective of the Panama Canal Authority is to take advantage of the expansion of the road and increase its value, providing complementary services to local and multinational companies.
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 Panama Canal Authority expects to start in February the construction of a specialized Roll On-Roll Off cargo terminal in the Pacific, next to the planned container port in Corozal.
The purpose of a specialized rolling cargo terminal is to turn the area where it will be built into a center for redistribution of vehicles, machinery and heavy equipment to serve the local market and other Latin American countries.
español
3473
