Electricity cables project still up in the air

A year after a  project for burying utility cables in selected areas of Panama City, and other areas was  announced with much fanfare, there has been little progress.

The plan was approved nearly a year ago by the Public Services Authority and was to  remove poles and overhead cables from a number of streets and replace them with underground cables. It  wass intended to   make the wires easier to maintain and to reduce visual pollution. When it is done, consumers will end up paying the cost.  

It would also help avoid major disruptions like that on July 1 last year when cables came down across Calle 50 and combined with a heavy downpour produced one of the biggest traffic jams  the city has known.

 According to the original projections work was to start in 2011, but not only has work not begun, there are still several problems to be solved.  

Public Services Manager Zelmar Rodriguez told La Prensa "there have been some complications but … we are in the final planning stages."

 One of the problems is the number of agencies and companies involved in the project. Multiple meetings have been held, and the consensus seems to be that a single contractor will be hired to do the work.

 Rodriguez said the next step is determining how the project will be carried out with as little impact as possible on traffic.

The city is  already facing increasing daily traffic jams as work on other infrastructure projects, including the Metro subway gets underway.