Metro subway opening a campaign stop

PANAMA’S METRO, subway, the first in Central America, opened on Saturday with the expected triumphant fanfare from President Ricardo Martinelli who was happy to point out that the man they had called “loco” had delivered.

The opening was four months behind the promised January date, at which time citizens were to have received two months of free usage. But with just a month to the upcoming election, the timing was perfect for the ruling coalition.

Rides are free at the moment so long as you have a pass to enter the turnstiles (available for $2) but no word yet for how long, or how much the fare will be. The celebrations started at Albrook Mall, and continued along the 13.7 kilometers route to Los Andes where the event assumed some of the trappings of the CD election campaign when deputies and candidates of the ruling coalition joined Martinelli who, said La Prensa looked as happy as when he assumed the predidency, and supporters chanted support.
Martinelli wearing a Metro workers shirt, took the opportunity to promise the crowd that that line two of the t system, will run to December 24 and another line will go from San Miguelito to the Multiplaza Mall in Paitilla
"They called me crazy and the crazy one turned on them" was one of Martinelli’s catch lines that rang through the late afternoon ceremonies.
The Metro, which will travel will require an operation base for $50 million said Minister of Economy and Finance, Frank De Lima. (Local engineers have forecast a cost of over three times that figure.
It will be subsidized by the state with $ 25 million a year.
The first line has 12 stations, 7 of which are underground, and 5 overhea, and cost $2.090 billion including the extension to San Isidro , San Miguelito.
The work was done by Line One Consortium, composed of the Spanish company FCC Construcciones and Brazilian company Norberto Odebrecht.
Politics aside, there will be a lot of happy users during the free-travel introduction.