Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Panama Canal Expansion Underway

Courtesy of Pancanal.com
The government of the Republic of Panama begins an unprecedented expansion of the historic Panama Canal this year as former US President Jimmy Carter attended groundbreaking ceremonies last September 3 at the village of Paraiso. Panama President Martin Torrijos led some 30,000 Panamanians in celebrating the event, which parallels in importance with the Canal's opening on January of 1914.

President Carter is known for signing the Panama Canal Treaty opposite Martin Torrijos' father Gen. Omar Torrijos back in September 7, 1977. The pact effectively turned over control of the Canal to the Panamanians on December 31, 1999.

The 77 kilometer (48 mile) Panama Canal lies at the Isthmus of Panama and is probably the most significant maritime shortcut connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The famous waterway plays a strategic role in international shipping with an average passage of 14,000 ships transporting some 200 million tons of cargo each year.

With changes in maritime technology allowing larger ships able to hold more cargo, the capacity of the Panama Canal is fast reaching its maximum. A national referendum in October 2006 paved the way for the Panama Canal Expansion Project.

The "Third Set of Locks" mega-project is estimated at $5.2 billion, a hefty bill for the aging shipping route. It is expected to double the capacity of the Canal and is scheduled for completion by 2014 as Panama Canal celebrates a century of serving the international maritime industry.

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Thanks to our Panamanian friend Roberto at The Silver People Chronicle. Your earlier comment reminded me to do this story.

Images courtesy of Pancanal.com.


2 comments:

Roberto said...

Hi EA!
Thanks a lot for your comment and the link to my blog on this post. Maybe you can help me out in the more technical aspect. Could you share with me how you got your "topics list" to look like that on your sidebar. I want to do the same with my blogs (people are asking me for easier access by subject). Will place your cool blog on my blog role if you don't mind. Roberto
http://thesilverpeoplechronicle.blogspot.com

EA said...

Hey Roberto. Here's the answer to your question.

Just let me know if you have some more. Have a great dotventures day.

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