Consorcio Grupo Unidos News

On track and on time, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) continues to press ahead with the start of the bid process for the most important project under its Expansion Program – the construction of the new set of locks. On March 3, the ACP received proposals from three consortia competing to design and build the new, modern and state-of-the-art locks on the Pacific and Atlantic sides of the Panama Canal. The three consortia that submitted bids included: Consorcio C.A.N.A.L; Consortium Bechtel, Taisei, Mitsubishi Corporation and Consorcio Grupo Unidos por el Canal. The ACP will evaluate the proposals and will award the contract for best value – 55 percent for the technical aspect and 45 percent for the bid price. The consortia submitted their price and technical proposals.

On Feb. 15, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) announced the final composition of the ACP Evaluation Committee that will review proposals submitted by consortia vying to win the largest contract under the $5.25b Canal Expansion Program – the design and construction of the new set of locks. The Committee is comprised of 15 Canal employees selected through a rigorous progress launched in October 2007. “The selection of the Evaluation Committee is the next step in the fair, rigorous and transparent process to award the locks contract,” said ACP Contracts Administration Manager Francisco Miguez. “Since releasing the request for proposals in August 2007, we have received interest from some of the world’s most renowned companies to construct the new set of locks.

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) Administrator/CEO Alberto Alemán Zubieta delivered an address on Feb. 11 at the 2009 Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) Logistics Conference in Dallas, Texas. In front of approximately 900 global logistics leaders, Mr. Alemán Zubieta highlighted the anticipated benefits of Canal expansion, which is progressing on-time and on-budget, and will help Canal customers to efficiently deliver products to consumers around the world. He also pointed out the rapid growth of Panama as the transportation and logistics hub of the Americas. Slated for completion in 2014, the $5.25b Expansion Program will double Canal capacity by building a new lane of traffic.

In a move to ensure a fair, open and transparent process in the awarding of the largest contract under the Panama Canal Expansion Program, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) selected Deloitte as the ACP’s new third set of locks contracting auditor on Feb. 10. In that capacity, Deloitte will oversee the technical aspect for the new third set of locks contract. Specifically, Deloitte will work closely with the ACP to audit, verify and certify that the ACP’s Evaluation Committee follows the rigorous analysis process to evaluate the technical proposals to be submitted by the qualifying consortia. “All ACP contracts undergo a very rigorous process to ensure fairness and transparency,” said Panama Canal Authority (ACP) Administrator/CEO Alberto Alemán Zubieta.

March 3rd will mark an important date in the Panama Canal Expansion Program. The four prequalified consortia – containing more than 30 companies – will submit their proposals to design and build the new set of locks that will constitute the core of the Canal’s new lane of traffic. The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has put a process in place to select the winner for what will be the largest contract under the $5.25b program. The selection process will build off the ACP’s already comprehensive expansion contracting process and will ensure a fair, rigorous and transparent selection. The process will be detailed in the coming weeks. On March 3, consortia submissions will be separated into two submissions – price and technical proposals.

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) released its Request for Proposal (RFP) Friday on the "design-build" contract for the new locks under the Canal's Expansion Program. Four global consortia will now move forward with their bids on what will be the largest and most important project under the $5.25b expansion. The Expansion Program will build a new lane of traffic along the Panama Canal through the construction of a new set of locks, doubling capacity and allowing more traffic and longer, wider ships. The ACP will meet with consortia representatives in February 2008 regarding the content of the RFP for the construction of the new set of locks. Proposals are due August 2008.

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) announced that four global consortia have been selected to bid on the "design-build contract" to create the locks for the Panama Canal expansion. The Expansion Program will build a new lane of traffic along the Panama Canal through the construction of a new set of locks, doubling capacity and allowing more traffic and longer, wider ships. In what will be the largest and most important project under the $5.25 billion expansion, the winner of this contract will design and build two locks complexes. Each of the four consortia will be allowed to respond to the ACP's Request for Proposal (RFP), which is expected to be released very soon.