The Maritime Chamber of Panama has asked for a suspension of a new rate of $10 for every passenger and crew member who embarks and disembarks at any port or air facility in the district of Colon.
The Mayor of Colon has put in place a"... rate for the use, cleaning, and security services in airport and seaport terminals, in the district of Colon, amounting to the sum of ten dollars (b / .10.00) for all travelers, transit passengers, and crew who embark and disembark at any port or air facility in the district of Colon, and also dicated other provisions."Seeagreementin La Gaceta.
Quetzal Port Company is offering a special rate with discounts up to 50% for ships carrying cargo whose origin and destination is Central America.
This project seeks to promote short sea shipping between the ports of Quetzal in Guatemala, Acajutla in El Salvador, Corinth in Nicaragua and Caldera in Costa Rica, and in this way reduce land freight traffic between countries in the region.
A feasibility study indicates that the region has economic and port potential to develop a system of short sea shipping.
After evaluating 49 ports with international traffic in the region, a feasibility study prepared by the Mesoamerica Project concluded that no large investments in access infrastructure are needed in order for ports to boost regional shipping.
The preliminary results have been released from a feasibility study on the development of a Short Sea Shipping service in Mesoamerica.
As part of this project, a feasibility study was conducted over the last 12 months, which assessed the movement of cargo from ports with international traffic in the 49 countries that make up the Mesoamerican block (Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and the Dominican Republic).
Six consortiums have expressed an interest in carrying out a feasibility study of the development of short-distance maritime transport.
The Meso-american short-distance maritime transport feasibility study seeks to define a strategy for promoting the development and modernization of maritime transport in the area for travel over short distances.
The Panamanian Martime Authority received expressions of interest in the project from several engineering, transport and project management consortiums: Nathan Associates Inc. in association with Spim SL y Maritime & Logistics Consulting Group S.A.; Abarloa 2 A.I.E.; Técnica y Proyectos S.A. and IRITEC engineers; Louis Berger International Inc; Alatec Ingenieros Consultores y Arquitectos, S.A. and Inecon, Ingenieros y Economistas Consultores, S.A.
Developing the region's short distance cargo and passenger sea travel could lower costs and favor agricultural exports.
Central America's short distance maritime transport project (TMCD, Spanish Acronym) is advancing. Feasibility studies have determined that with little investment, the 49 ports located in Central America and Mexico, "could be adapted for short distance passenger and cargo transportation, as it is done in Europe".
The Central American Freeway of Information (AMI) is at 62% completion according to what was reported by Eduardo Cálix, the committee president of Project Mesoamerica.
Many consider that now is the moment to define the conditions and rules of use for the network, which should be finished in the middle of 2009 and should begin to operate before the end of the year.
The leaders of Mexico, Colombia and Central America concluded their two-day meeting in Mexico with the Declaration of Villahermosa that buried the Puebla-Panama Plan and replaced it with the Meso-American Project.
The new initiative, like its predecessor, aims to promote regional integration so as to create more prosperous societies with improved economic infrastructure.