£3.5bn Panama Canal expansion secures funding

Latin America's biggest infrastructure project, the Panama Canal expansion, is set to go ahead after client the Panama Canal Authority signed loan agreements totalling US$2.3bn (£1.5bn).

The total cost of the expansion , known as the Third Set of Locks Project, is estimated to be US$5.25bn (£3.5bn). The balance will be generated by canal operation, which serves around 5% of the global maritime freight annually.

The construction programme has four principal components:

• Building a third set of floodgates, including two floodgates complexes and recycle tubs on both ends of the canal.
• Dredging the access channels in the Atlantic and the Pacific.
• Expansion and deepening of the existing navigation channels.
• Increase the maximum functioning level of the Gatún Lake that provides fresh water to the canal.

The construction works, which started last year, are expected to create up to 10,000 job. The project is scheduled to finish in 2014.

The Panama Canal has been operational since 1914, but is close to reaching its maximum capacity.

• Wikipedia page on the Panama Canal expansion