Panama Canal expansion – all you need to know
The third lane of locks of the Panama Canal expansion project was officially inaugurated on June 26, 2016, thus contributing to the effective transit of over 140 sea routes to 1,700 ports in 160 countries. The extension of this important waterway represents the largest modernization project since its opening in August 15, 1914.
Since the opening of the so-called ‘expanded canal’ all expectations have been met and even exceeded. The number of vessels that have crossed the new locks has been what was expected and planned by the Panama Canal Administration (ACP in Spanish), and every day more reservations for transit are booked.
The Panama Canal expansion, whose works began almost a decade ago, allow for the crossing of neopanamax vessels, which can carry up to 13,000 containers, almost three times the size of those that passed through the waterway before its expansion.
With the inauguration of the third lane and the launch of its operation, the Panama Canal revenues are forecasted to increase between 16% and 17% within the next year.
The expansion of the canal shortens in about five days the journey from the east coast of the United States to the Pacific Ocean, and eliminates the need to navigate through Cape Horn in route to the Atlantic Ocean. For this reason it is forecasted that the expanded canal will absorb about 10% of the cargo between Asia and the United States. It is projected that one of the main products that will transit through the canal by the end of the decade is natural gas: its production is booming in the United States, and the demand in countries such as South Korea, India, China and Japan is increasing.
Since 1999, when the Panamanian government started administering the canal, the waterway has contributed with more than $18.000 million to the country’s economy, including direct and indirect contributions to the State. In the fiscal year 2014, its activity contributed $2,717.7 million to the country’s economy, representing about 6% of gross domestic product (GDP). Its economic impact represents 40% of Panama’s GDP, approximately. The Panama Canal generates more than 13,000 direct jobs.
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Advances in maritime connectivity provided by the expansion of the canal allow for a greater access to international markets at a lower cost, greater competitiveness in exports, direct revenues from services to ships and continuing opportunities for international trade.
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