In what will be the largest contract under the Panama Canal’s Expansion Program – to design and build the new locks – the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) received statements of qualifications yesterday from the four consortia vying for the job.
On August 27, the ACP released a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the construction of the new set of locks to be built under the Canal’s Expansion Program. The four consortia that responded, which are comprised of 30 companies from 13 countries, yesterday submitted a Statement of Qualification (SOQ). In the next step, the ACP will evaluate the SOQs from the four prospective firms based on pass/fail criteria and capabilities. The firms that meet the basic requirements will pass to the second and final round. In this latter and final round, the ACP will release a request for proposal (RFP), and the consortia that have made it to this round will submit proposals. The ACP expects to release the RFP in the coming weeks.
Prior to submitting the qualifications, a total of 144 representatives from North, Central, and South American, Asian and European firms visited the areas where the new locks will be built and attended an informational meeting regarding the contract.
The Expansion Program will build a new lane of traffic along the Panama Canal through the construction of a new set of locks, which will double capacity and allow more traffic and longer, wider ships.