Bankruptcy stalls flagship project

The dreams of Panama’s Tourism Authority (ATP) of boosting conferences and events in Panama at the new Conference Center in Amador which was expected to attract the construction of new hotels and tourist-oriented businesses have taken yet another step back .again been frustrated.

General Civil Constructions (Cocige) The Panama company that is part of the China-linked consortium is in the process of bankruptcy. The company has announced its imminent insolvency, which makes it impossible to assume its obligations with the work it undertook to finish with the China State Construction Engineering Corporation. The center which was a  flagship project of the Martinelli administration sat fallow after a previous bankruptcy and is linked to a $59 million ongoing loan investigation involving key members of the Martinelli inner circle, wending

This is the culmination one of the many problems facing the giant pile of concrete in Amador, which should have been enabled in since December last year, but has over2,000 construction ve and design failures.

The ATP, the entity that contracted the work, had announced its intention to terminate the contract and execute the $98 million guarantee backed by the ASSA company.

After accounting for some arrears and refurbishment of some jobs, it had been estimated that the work would be finished in April which now seems unlikely,

Cocige reported a possible agreement with its Chinese partner, in which it proposes to renounce its participation in the consortium called CCA-Cocige. Until the beginning of February, the deal had not been sealed.

Cocige, one of the recurrent contractors in works of the government of Juan Carlos Varela , has shown inability to finish other projects, such as schools and houses of the Techos de Esperanza program that total more than $70 million. The State has paid $ 136.8  million per convention center from a total of $ 197 million- for the progress of works, including what was paid to the first contractor.