Panama Canal Requests Proposals For New Locks Construction
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.
Panama Canal Refutes Contract Claim
The following is a statement from the Panama Canal Authority. Reports from AFP and Reuters from Madrid have given the impression that the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has awarded a contract for Canal expansion to the Spanish construction firm, Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC). This is inaccurate. The ACP has not made a decision to recommend expansion of the Canal. As such, no expansion contract has been awarded to any firm. The ACP has an ongoing program of improving and modernizing the Canal through various ways such as improving the alignment and deepening the navigational channels to increase capacity, increasing visibility along the waterway to aid traffic, and other similar projects. This program is in no way connected with the expansion of the Canal.
