Panama Canal Locks Contract in Effect

The agreement between the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) and Grupo Unidos por el Canal. S.A. (GUPC) took effect Thursday, March 20 after signature by all involved parties.

As announced by the ACP on February 27, the agreement falls within the terms of the contract for the design and construction of the third set of locks and does not include any payment for claims. GUPC's claims must be processed through the mechanisms within the contract.

The final agreement provides that:

• The contractor finishes the works in December 2015.
• The contractor will deliver in Panama the 12 lock gates currently in Italy by February 2015. The gates are to be transported in staggered shipments.
• GUPC will pay $100 million and ACP will advance $100 million (guaranteed), which will enable works to regain a normal pace.
• The Performance Bond for $400 million may only be released to Zurich North America, for the contractor to obtain financing for the same amount to complete the work.
• The moratorium for the repayment of advances may be extended until 2018, subject to fulfillment of certain milestones and other conditions.

The consortium is formed by Sacyr Vallehermoso, S.A (Spain), Impregilo, S.p.A. (Italy), Jan de Nul Group (Belgium) and Constructora Urbana, S.A. (CUSA) (Panama).

pancanal.com