Americas News
April 2016 Opening Date for Expanded Panama Canal Remains Uncertain
Comments made by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) and the Panama Canal's expansion project contractor Grupo Unidos por el Canal, SA (GUPC) last week regarding repairs to cracks in the third set of locks have cast further uncertainty over whether the intended April 2016 opening of the Canal's expansion will happen on time, Reuters reports.
In October, the ACP and Miguel Hincapie, Panamanian Foreign Vice Minister, said that the Panama Canal's expansion will be complete in time for the scheduled opening date of April 2016, seemingly putting and end to speculation of a delay.
However a spokesman for the waterway's authority was quoted by Reuters Thursday saying it could still face fresh delays.
At a press conference the following Saturday, GUPC confirmed that repairs to leaks, which were discovered in August, are expected to be complete by January 2016.
As GUPC did not say whether the repair work would affect the April opening, but only that it is trying "to minimise the impact on the final handover, planned for April next year," it has led some to interpret that as meaning a delay is likely.
While the expansion project costs were originally reported to be set at $5.25 billion, those costs are said to have risen alongside the canal administration's dispute over the leaks with GUPC.
Earlier that same month, it was reported that the Panama Canal's administration were considering legal action after cracks discovered in the concrete of one of the interior chambers threatened to delay the opening of the widened canal even further.
