Latest stretch of Cinta Costera to cost $406.6 million

The  interconnection of the third phase of Panama's Cinta Costers would cost the state $406.6 million, representing 52% of the total cost of the work awarded to the Brazilian company Norberto Odebrecht.

The Ministry of Public Works (MOP) says La Prensa, has avoided giving a breakdown of the cost of each component of theproject , but in the addendum in which changes were made to the financing program late last year, the price was reflected. Odebrecht has been awarded  contracts for each phase of construction, which eventually will cost $782 million.

The interconnection between Balboa Avenue and Avenue of the Poets is the most controversial of all the road realignment project because of  historical  implications and the impact it would have on Casco Viejo which is dubbed a  Historical  Heritage  site by Unesco.

Although in the tender, the Government requested the construction of a tunnel, the MOP announced its intention to build a marine viaduct around the old quarter

Consulted by La Prensa on the breakdown included in the addendum, the MOP did not define whether the $406.6 million was assigned to a tunnel, a coastal or a  marine viaduct, the three options that have been considered. 

The president of AVACA (the Neighborhood Association and Friends of Casco Viejo), Patrizia Pinzon, said that having tendered a tunnel, any other alternative would have no validity. She said  that changes to projects once they have been awarded sends a negative message to investors about the legal security of the country.

In a recent interview with Radio Panama, Minister of Public Works, Federico José Suárez, left open the possibility of future reductions in the cost of the project. "Having removed the tunnel we have downward price differences but until we have a final draft  we cannot give a number," he said.