In the midst of one of the largest declines in the shipping industry, and the slowdown that are suffering the world’s economies, Panama inaugurated this Sunday one of its big bets on the future, not only to ensure the competitiveness of its more than centennial channel (1914), but to adapt to the realities of a market that rearranges and faces headwinds. (See Special: After nine years of work, the Panama Canal is expanded)
The Panama Canal expansion project in the form of a third lane navigation is that, a monumental project that Panamanians have deposited their greatest efforts, not without setbacks, but marked by a word that sums up the spirit of the work since its construction in the early twentieth century. titanic
This in a context in that the good name of the country has been rocked by so-called Panama Papers. Also the competition of the Suez Canal (Egypt), who has managed to bite a 10 or 15 percent of the annual income of the Panama Canal in the last three years, according to figures cited by ‘Wall Street Journal. Or even the eventual canal by Nicaragua. Not to mention the impact on the global economy will have the ‘brexit’.
To address the crisis, the shipping industry to use less resources joined ships, but build much larger. Enlargement is the answer to that: a lane in which to cross the neopanamax ship channel classification designating vessels capable of carrying about 14,000 containers
To understand the magnitude of the event, simply. say that there spends 6 percent of world trade, a third of trade between Asia and America, and so far only fit for this aquatic highway linking the Atlantic with the Pacific ships about 4,000 containers (panamax). The road capacity is doubled.
The executive vice president of planning and development of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), Oscar Bazan, estimates that the expansion will cause a “growth from one year to another 40 million tons. The increase can be between 300 and 500 million dollars for the first year. Now, I would be cautious with everything that is happening in the world today ( ‘brexit’), to see what it will be prospective in tonnage for 2018, but in the first year will be a 10 or 11 percent. For subsequent years I would see a more moderate growth between 3 and 5 percent, “he told TIME, as part of an invitation from the ACP and Maersk.
Work national pride
so when today the Chinese container ship Cosco Shipping Panama make the inaugural paseíllo to at least 11 heads of state and government (President Juan Manuel Santos has no plans to go) and more than 20,000 guests , ending nine years of construction history, but one that expected to boost one of the strongest economies in the region, with GDP growth of between 6.0 and 6.6 percent projected for 2017. starts
“Here all we are proud of the channel,” says José Luis Prieto, a Panamanian doing sport in the coastal strip, a jetty in the capital. “ Almost all families here have been associated with the construction or operation of the channel . At least some of our relatives, friends or acquaintances has participated at any time in its history. It is part of our life, “he says proudly, while buying an orange juice at one of the kiosks in the sector
The figures of enlargement are shocking since it started the global project in September 2007.: 30,000 jobs, 16 rolling gates weighing 50,000 tons, tens of millions of cubic meters of dredged material, about 4.5 million cubic meters of concrete and 220,000 tons of steel armor.
with the same concrete they could have built two pyramids like Cheops in Egypt. And with the same steel, about 22 Eiffel towers, like Paris. T odo at a cost of 5,450 million dollars, although there are claims from contractors.
But why not built once to pass new ships called post-Panamax which can accommodate about 19,000 containers? “Today, 98 percent of the world fleet fits through the new lock. The remaining 2 percent are pospanamax. We are anticipating that in about 10 years, maybe 96 percent of the fleet in the world can still go through Panama, “explains the engineer Ilya Hawthorn Marota, in charge of the expansion program of the ACP.
“ These huge vessels had not gone through here and have done the locks for their size . We market analysis and route rather than the size of the boat. Of course, according to the market demand and build the sluice route having a size profitable enough to build the project we needed, “adds Hawthorn Marota.
National pride is at stake. Some critics have pointed out problems with the concrete and the use of tugs instead of locomotives to the passage of the locks, but this has been disproved by the CAP.
On the screens Panama City there chronometers carrying a countdown to opening day. Today, one of the works most emblematic engineering of the twentieth century will give a decisive step to catch up with the twenty-first century.
EDUARD SOTO special Envoy
THE TIME
Panama City.
No comments:
Post a Comment