Americas News
Panama Canal Expansion Work Halted
Work on the Panama Canal expansion has been halted after a breakdown in talks over who should pay for $1.6bn in cost overruns.
Canal Administrator Jorge Quintano says a deal could still be reached, but that the window of opportunity was getting narrower "by the minute".
Quintano has accused the GUPC consortium handling the construction, which consists of Madrid, Spain based Sacyr Vallehermoso, S.A. (Sacyr), Italy's Impregilo, Jan De Nul of Belgium, and Panamanian firm Constructora Urbana, of being "inflexible" in its negotiations.
"What I do want to make clear is that we will not yield to blackmail," he said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Sacyr, meanwhile, has blamed the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) for the breakdown in talks, warning in a statement that "without an immediate solution, we face years of disputes in national and international tribunals."
EU Industry Commissioner Antonio Tajani, who has been mediating the dispute, called the stoppage "unexpected".
"The interruption of the work would be bad news for employment, for the worldwide economy, for the expansion of the canal and for the parties themselves," he added.
Earlier this week, hopes for a resolution to the row were raised after Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli said that the sides were close to an agreement.
Prior to today's developments, the expansion project was scheduled to open for commercial transits in the fourth quarter of 2015 having already been subject to a number of other delays.
