Original news was published on 25 September, 2014

Fourth set of locks within 25 years, China expresses interest

With another year of construction needed to complete a third set of locks for the Panama Canal, the Panama Canal Authority has announced it plans to further expand the canal within 25 years. “In 25 years I’m sure the fourth set of locks will be built,” Jorge Quijano, head of the Panama Canal Authority, said at a press conference. Quijano did not offer details on the next expansion. Quijano said the upgrade would enable Panama, which depends on the canal for US$1 billion a year in revenue, to win back global shipping companies that have opted for the Suez in recent years.

“We are confident that the new fees we’ll be publishing, possibly for the end of this year or early next, will have the necessary incentives to enable us to get back those clients,” he said. The Suez Canal has just begun its own upgrade and plans for a Nicaragua Canal are proceeding with construction due to start by the end of the year. The US$40 billion project to Panama’s north is being funded by a Chinese company. China has expressed interest in a future Panama Canal expansion. In August, Quijano met with a delegation headed by Mo Wenhe, Chairman of the China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) and Wei Hua Wang, representative of the Chinese-Panamanian Office of Business Development.

“We are exploring our participation in all Canal projects, especially in the design, construction and financing of a fourth set of locks,” Wenhe said at a news conference.

*NEWS SOURCE