Canal expansion opening springs a leak

 A DAY AFTER the Panama Canal Authority (ACP)  leaked an announcement  that the new locks of the expansion project would be opened on the  promised date in April 2016,  it was revealed that the construction partnership GUPC, has yet  to submit a report on the leakage in the walls,  and the opening might be delayed.

The authority had asked for a detailed report explaining the cause and remediation plans, but it has yet to receive the document.

“We have not received the answers we required from GUPC,” the ACP said.

GUPC Chairman Giuseppe Quarta, said on Tuesday September 22, that the consortium is “in permanent contact with the ACP. We are discussing everything that happened and everything that we are doing. The ACP is perfectly aware of what is happening.”

The consortium chairman also said the situation could delay the delivery of the project, but that is not yet a certainty.

ACP Deputy Administrator Manuel Benítez said that the consortium has yet to inform the agency of any delays.

“Therefore, the entity is preparing to start operations in April 2016,” but he also acknowledged that a delay is likely.

“We don’t want to speed things up in any way if the result would be a work that does not have the quality we expect,” he said. “In the end what interests us is to receive a structure that will last.”