Panama Canal expansion

Following the recent referendum in which the people of the Republic of Panama voted 78% in favour President Martin Torrijos? plans to start work this year on ambitious expansion plans for the Panama Canal, the news is that international tenders are to be invited soon for the initial stages of the canal expansion works, based on an overall budgetary estimate of $5.2 billion..

The project would take about eight years to complete and work on the expansion project would is expected to start later this year. Initial works will comprise dry excavation and dredging, which later on will include the scheme to deepen the Gatun Lake about midway in the canal route.

Design work on the Pacific side of the canal is in the hands of Consorcio Post-Panamax. Currently the consortium, led by Tractabel of Belgium in association with Compagnie Nationale du Rhone (CNR), is working on a contract to harmonise conceptual designs for the locks at both ends of the 82-kilometre canal. Conceptual design on the Atlantic side was given to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The best elements from each of the two concepts are being taken up in the search for a standardised design for both.

The Panama Canal Authority (PCA) says the construction cost for the third set of locks has been estimated with rigorous methods of analysis under the guidance of international specialists, among who was Parsons Brinckerhoff International. Dimensions of the post-Panamax locks are currently quoted as 61 metres wide and 427m long with 18.3m of clearance. That compares with the existing 33.5m by 305m with 12.5m clearance. The final scope for passage of larger vessels has important implications for ship design and the dimensions may be adjusted better to suit the needs of users.

At an early stage in the project the PCA appointed PB Consult (an infrastructure and financial planning arm of Parsons Brinckerhoff) in association with Montgomery Watson Harza (MWH) as program advisory consultants. At the time of the award, Michael Schneider, now PB?s executive vice-president, described the job as assisting the canal authority in developing a master plan for the future of the Panama Canal. MWH has an indefinite delivery contract with the PCA covering civil, structural and mechanical engineering, hydroelectric and hydraulic engineering, and architectural design services.