No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeArchivePanama Canal Expansion Project Remains Secretive

Panama Canal Expansion Project Remains Secretive

PANAMA CITY – President Martin Torrijos said in an interview with EFE this week that a project to expand the country’s international waterway – through which passes 4% of the world’s maritime trade – has not begun because preliminary studies on the matter have not been completed.Asked about criticism that the project is being handled with too much secrecy, Torrijos – who on Sept. 1 completed his first year in office – said that he could not discuss the Canal expansion “by stages” and that reports on the undertaking will be released “when they’re finished.”The expansion of the Panama Canal is one of the projects that has marked the presidency of Torrijos, whose father, strongman Omar Torrijos, was the architect of the United States’ return of the Canal to Panamanian control.However, the Panamanian people will have the last word on the prospective expansion project since it must be approved in a public referendum before any of the construction work can begin.The 42-year-old Torrijos said that “when we have concluded the studies, there will be a very broad discussion” of it so that the public can “conscientiously” make a decision on the project, which is sure to have a significant impact on the country’s development.Torrijos revealed that the project has continued to evolve and no longer calls for the construction of huge dams that would flood the canal basin.The president said that the project’s design “has advanced to a different system of locks that don’t require so much water (and that) make more efficient use of technology. It won’t be necessary to flood large areas, as had been thought initially.”

Trending Now

UN Denounces Guatemala Over ‘Inhuman’ Indigenous Evictions

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, Balakrishnan Rajagopal, called on the Guatemalan government on Friday to halt the “inhuman”...

Guatemala’s Gang War Funeral Attack Leaves 7 Dead and 13 Injured

At least seven people were killed and 13 wounded in an armed attack Tuesday night at a funeral in downtown Guatemala City, which authorities...

Nicaragua Places Bayardo Arce Under House Arrest Amid Power Struggle

The Nicaraguan government has placed historic Sandinista commander Bayardo Arce, economic adviser to President Daniel Ortega, under house arrest, according to exiled opposition members...

Tsunami Alerts in Latin America After 8.8 Quake in Russia

An 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s Far East coast on Wednesday, one of the most powerful quakes ever recorded, triggering tsunamis with waves up...

Remittances to Central America Surge 20% Amid U.S. Deportation Fears

Family remittances in Central America grew by around 20% in the first half of 2025, according to official data—a rise that experts attribute to...

El Salvador Retries Environmentalists Over 1989 Wartime Killing

A new trial against five Salvadoran environmentalists, accused of murdering a woman in 1989 during the civil war, will take place on Tuesday, announced...
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica