Americas News
Panama's President Says Canal Talks Close to Resolution
With talks over continued work on the Panama Canal set to expire Tuesday, Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli said Monday that the sides are close to an agreement, the Latin American Tribune reports.
But, according to Bloomberg, Panama's ambassador to Spain said Tuesday that the nation needs a fallback plan to complete the canal if the talks fail.
"It's important to send a message that Panama has to finish the canal and will finish the canal," Ambassador Roberto Eduardo Arango said.
"The Panama Canal and its administrators that are responsible to the nation have to have clear options on the table to go in the case of Plan B."
In his statement Monday, Martinelli said the Panama Canal Authority and the Grupo Unidos Por el Canal (GUPC) consortium that is handling construction on the canal were "on the verge" of an agreement.
"They are very close to arriving at a happy conclusion ... But I prefer for us to give time to the parties, who have set tomorrow as the final day, so that it may be they (who announce results), but I'm sure that they are close to arriving at an agreement," he said.
The dispute centres on cost overruns of more than $1.6 billion for work on locks that is the centrepiece of the expansion of the canal to accommodate larger ships.
Arbitrators have warned that a failure to resolve the dispute could result in a years-long delay in construction.
