ONCE complete, the Panama Canal expansion programme will make the country the logistics hub of the Americas, canal administrator Alberto Aleman Zubieta recently told 300 industry professionals at the First Annual Global Infrastructure Leadership Forum in New York.
As keynote speaker, Mr Aleman outlined the main elements of the waterway's largest construction project in its history, and what is regarded as the biggest and most important infrastructure project in Latin America today.
"The Panama Canal has always been vital to world commerce and shipping. Our goal is to become the transportation and logistics hub of the Americas," he said.
"The expansion of the Panama Canal is the most important infrastructure project of the region. It will benefit not only Panama, but the region and the world as well. We are constantly working on modernising the existing canal, and with an expanded waterway, we will accommodate larger ships with more tonnage," Mr Aleman explained.
The expansion involves building a new lane of traffic through the construction of a new set of locks, which will double capacity and allow more, longer, wider ships.
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