NEW PORT PLAN
On April 8, the Cabinet authorized the direct sale of 126 hectares on Remo Largo Island in the district of Cristobal, Colon province. The sale will be “through exceptional procedure”, i.e., directly, so that the company SMC Barcelona SA, can construct, develop, manage and operate a multipurpose container handling port and other complementary activities.
WATER EVAPORATES
This summer has been one of the longest in recent years, with Alajuela Lake and Madden Dam with very low levels of water. Flying over the area, this anomaly and the reality could be seen. Lake Alajuela holds the waters of the Chagres, Pequení, and Boqueron rivers and also part of the Chagres National Park that was established in the early 30’s and the Madden Dam supplies water to Gatun Lake for Canal operations and also generates electricity.
WHO WILL PAY?
The consortium responsible for the Panama Canal expansion, led by the Spanish construction company Sacyr, has already received the report commissioned from an independent expert to have a schedule of how claims are to be made for the additional cost claims of $1,625 million (about 1,200 million euros). The conclusion of the report is in line with the estimate made last year by the same expert who estimated the Panamanian government will end up covering at least half of the cost overruns, according to sources close to the consortium.
CANAL IMPACTED
Delay in expanding the Panama Canal and a budget reduction are having an impact. One of the main customers of the waterway, Evergreen Marine, from 2015 will remove part of its services, according to the administrator of the Panama Canal, Jorge Quijano. Quijano did not specify exactly which service, but admitted that the situation is of concern. So much so, that the Canal budget will be reduced. The administrator declined to give an exact figure of the new budget.
CATCHING UP
The Deputy Administrator of the Panama Canal Authority, Manuel Benitez, said that the commitment made by Grupo Unidos por el Canal de Panama (GUPC) will bring forward, no later than February 2015, the time missing in the expansion project of the third set of locks. After opening the 22nd International Congress of Maritime Pilots (IMPA), Benitez said the delivery of the lock gates is one of the conditions of the agreement for the continuation of the works made by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) and the GUPC consortium.
MONEY MAKERS
According to the budget law of the Nation, public companies should contribute between earnings and contributions to the Treasury $1,288.5 million in 2013. However, revenue was $1,154.2 million that year; i.e., $133.8 million less than expected. Among the institutions that did not meet the anticipated contributions are the Panama Canal, Cable and Wireless, the utilities, AITSA, the Panama Tourism Authority, the Public Registry, the Panama Maritime Authority, the National Lottery and the Colon Free Zone (ZLC).
TAX HAVEN – AGAIN
Colombia declared Panama a tax haven that does not cooperate in the control of smuggling and evasion , said the head of the Department of National Taxes and Customs (DIAN) of that country, Juan Ricardo Ortega. In statements given to the Colombian daily El Tiempo, Ortega said that there are “strong indications” that much of the smuggling that plagues Colombia comes from the Central American nation.
VENEZUELA QUESTION
Panama went to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to detail the restrictions imposed on trade by Venezuela since that country decided to close the diplomatic and commercial relations with Panama on March 5. Through a letter sent to the WTO Geneva headquarters, by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, it highlights “the arbitrariness that Venezuela has implemented on its merchants and citizens and against the Panamanians.” Panama considers that such action is contrary to the spirit and the specific obligations on which this organization (WTO) is based,” says the Panamanian letter.
BIG METRO DAY
The big day came and the Panama Metro passed the test meter. Around 142,000 people were carried up until 7:00 p.m., in the first hours along Line 1, and they recognized this fast moving modern transportation system. Meanwhile, 13,000 memorial cards of the subway had been acquired by Panamanians, 9,000 at stations and 4,000 in pay zones, kiosks and call centers, according to data supplied by Sonda.
METRO COSTS
A report by the road commission of the Panamanian Society of Engineers and Architects (SPIA) estimates that the total cost of operations and financing of the Panama Metro will amount to more than $194 million annually. That figure indicates that the Secretariat of the Panama Metro (SMP) will need $56 million for operations, maintenance and security and $138 million to cover the financing.
A technical analysis is based on the performance of other Metro systems of countries such as the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Spain and Medellin, in Colombia, among others.