The Rico Cedeño Stadium Project was Resumed by President Mulino’s Government
The reopening ceremony for the construction work at the Rico Cedeño Stadium in the province of Herrera, was conducted by the nation’s president of the Republic José Raúl Mulino, who presided over the ceremony in Chitré.
After years of neglect by previous governments and legal obstacles, the rehabilitation works of the Rico Cedeño stadium in the city of Chitré have been officially resumed by the government led by the President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino, with a view to its inauguration this same year. The event to announce the stadium’s restoration took place this Thursday, during a tour by President Mulino to the capital of Herrera, in which he inaugurated several works of social interest and gave orders to proceed with others.
The Rico Cedeño stadium rehabilitation project was contracted in January 2019 for an initial amount of $ 5.4 million. The contract accumulated multiple addenda, extensions, and financial adjustments that raised its total cost to more than B/.10 million, but without significant progress. Successive modifications, the lack of timely technical definitions, and verified breaches generated a prolonged stagnation of the project, which after several years reached an approximate physical progress of 83%, without legal or administrative viability to continue under the current contract.
Given the contractual complexity of the project, the Panamanian Sports Institute, under the leadership of Miguel Ordóñez, undertook various efforts to find a legal way to move forward with the work, including attempts to implement Addendum No. 7, explore a possible mutual agreement, and evaluate liquidation, as part of a real institutional effort to complete the project. Once it was verified that none of these alternatives could succeed legally and the persistent breaches by the contractor were confirmed, the Institute proceeded to issue the Administrative Resolution of Termination of the Contract, in protection of the public interest and in strict compliance with current regulations.
This decision, accompanied by the necessary technical coordination with the Comptroller General of the Republic of Panama and the institutional support of the Presidency, local authorities and the legal team of Pandeportes, was supported by the Administrative Court of Public Procurement in its decision of November 17, 2025, which recognized that all these actions were carried out in good faith and that the actions of Pandeportes remained in accordance with the law and the principles of public administration. With the termination of the contract confirmed and finalized, the State fully regained technical and administrative control of the project. Now, the work will be resumed by Constructora Rodsa, SA.
“We are going to rescue another heritage of the Panamanian people,” said Mulino, noting that he hopes to see the first game in the stadium within nine months. “It is necessary that each province has its own iconic stadium, where they can host their best youth and national league teams and where they can show off their skills,” he reiterated. The Rico Cedeño stadium is an emblematic project for the province of Herrera and a commitment made by the Mulino administration and Pandeportes to transparency, responsible planning and the strengthening of the national sports infrastructure. The event was attended by the First Lady of the Republic, Maricel Cohen de Mulino; the former President of the Republic, Mireya Moscoso; Ministers and Deputy Ministers of State; the Director of Pandeportes, Miguel Ordóñez, members of parliament and local authorities.
