The Panama Canal Expansion Program, largest infrastructure project since the waterway’s original construction, is nearly 90% complete and on track for 2016 opening.
At the moment, the Pacific Entrance and Atlantic Entrance dredging works are fully completed with Gatun Lake and Culebra Cut dredging project being 93% finished.
Last Friday, May 1, the sixteenth and final gate for the new locks was installed. The next milestone for the expanded Canal will occur when the new lock chambers are flooded.
The Expansion Program, based on six years of research and numerous studies, will create a new lane of traffic along the Canal through the construction of a new set of locks.
After the expansion the Post-Panamax vessels will be able to transit through the Canal, with up to 13,000 TEUs. This will double the Canal’s capacity, having a direct impact on economies of scale and international maritime trade.