Americas News
Sacyr Denies Panama Canal Work Stoppage
Sacyr Vallehermoso, S.A. (Sacyr), the Spanish construction company leading the expansion work to the Panama Canal has denied that work has been halted, the BBC reports.
Sacyr President, Manuel Manrique, did however say that work may eventually stop if the building companies run out of cash.
The comments follow the announcement yesterday by The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) that work had been stopped and that talks with GUPC, the consortium handling the construction, had broken down.
The two sides are currently in dispute over who should pay for $1.6bn in cost overruns for the expansion project.
The situation looked to be nearing resolution at the start of the week, with Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli saying the sides were close to an agreement.
However reports yesterday that GUPC had halted work on the project were called "unexpected" by EU Industry Commissioner Antonio Tajani, who has been mediating the dispute.
"There is still room for negotiation with the ACP," Manrique told the Spanish radio network Cadena Ser, while Canal Administrator Jorge Quijano says a deal could still be reached, but that the window of opportunity was getting narrower "by the minute".
