| Submit your comments on this article |
| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Referendum to Widen Panama Canal Approved |
| 2006-07-15 |
| PANAMA CITY, Panama (AP) - Lawmakers on Friday approved a national referendum on whether the government should undertake the biggest modifications to the Panama Canal since it was opened in 1914. The $5.3 billion project calls for a construction of a third set of locks on the canal that would reduce long lines of ships trying to cross the canal and allow larger ships to pass through. The exact date of the referendum will be announced after the bill is signed by President Martin Torrijos, who has endorsed the project. Recent polls indicate that a majority of Panamanians favor the expansion. The canal, 105 feet above sea level at its highest point, uses a series of parallel locks to lift ships to Lake Gatun for the transoceanic passage. Large container ships now just barely fit through the canal's locks. The new locks would be able to handle those ships. Opponents of the proposed canal expansion contend the project is risky because it is based on uncertain projections about maritime trade and the world economy. Officials have said they would pay for the upgrades through loans and toll increases for ships using the canal. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #2 "5.3 billion" Um... You might wanna raise that estimate upward anywhere by 200-800 percent. a billion doesn't go as far as it used to.... c.f. the Big Dig. |
| Posted by: Mark E. 2006-07-15 16:06 |
| #1 Betcha a Chinese company or front gets it. |
| Posted by: Glush Creremble5121 2006-07-15 16:02 |