Panama Canal Accepts Bids for Third Dry Excavation Project

Moving forward with the next phase of its Expansion Program, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) released a request for proposals (RFP) soliciting bids for the third of four dry excavation projects.

This dry excavation project will help to create expansion’s critical access channel that will link the new Pacific locks with the Canal’s existing Gaillard Cut (the narrowest stretch of the Panama Canal). Details of the RFP are available on the ACP’s Online Bidding System.

The scope of work will include the excavation, removal and disposal of eight million cubic meters of material. Moreover, the RFP calls for demolishing the Cocoli Bridge and clearing 190 hectares of unexploded ordnances (UXOs), remnants from former United States training facilities in the Canal Zone.

Similar to the first and second dry excavation projects, this contract will be awarded to the firm or consortia with the lowest priced proposal that meets all of the RFP’s requirements. Proposals are due November 18, 2008.

Expansion will build a new lane of traffic along the Panama Canal through the construction of a new set of locks that will double capacity and allow more traffic and longer, wider ships.