The Panama Canal expansion project is 90% complete with the start of filling new locks on the Atlantic Ocean side of the waterway.
The step was announced by the Panama Canal Authority in a statement outlining the filling of the lower chamber of Atlantic locks. The move “signals the start of a deliberate and methodical phase of operational tests and quality control," the statement said.
The expanded waterway, with an additional lane and facilities that will double capacity, is expected to open in the spring. The $5.25 billion project was begun more than seven years ago and delayed at times by payment disputes with contractors.
“This event highlights the magnitude of what we have been working on for the past seven years,” canal Administrator Jorge Quijano said. “Filling the locks with water is the culmination of arduous years of labor and the realization that we are within arm’s reach of the completion of one of the most impressive infrastructure projects of our time.”
The canal expansion has encouraged investment in East Coast ports, such as Miami, New York/New Jersey and Baltimore, to deepen channels with the expectation of larger vessels calling there with more cargo.
Water levels eventually are being raised to a height of nearly 90 feet, initially by pumping in 50,000 cubic meters of water from Gatun Lake to test the locks. Four months of testing are planned.
“With the addition of these water-savings basins,” Quijano said, “we will recycle nearly 60% of the water used in every lockage, using the world’s most advanced systems and enhancing the canal’s reliability. With this new phase, expansion nears closer and closer to completion.”
