Secrecy agreements over airport land deals

Tocumen, S.A., is signing confidentiality agreements with the owners of the land which will be bought to build the third runway for Panama’s  principal international airport.

There are 10 owners who together have about 800 hectares, says  Carlos Duboy, manager of Tocumen, S.A. To acquire the 800 hectares, Tocumen will issue bonds for $225 million of which, about $100 million dollars would go to the purchase of the lands, reports La Prensa.

Duboy said that they will negotiate separately and that the price per square meter will depend on the characteristics of the terrain. The appraisal made by the Comptroller General indicated a price of between $10 and $25 per square meter. “There are areas that are flooded and swampy, while there are others that are more firm,” it said.

Last week, the Cabinet Council authorized Duboy to prepare the issue, as well as restructure the 2013 issue for $650 million, to get a lower rate of interest.