Canal authority ready to take over expansion project
AS PATIENCE wears thin with the consortium responsible for the construction of the third set of locks Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has warned that it could take over if it cannot finish the work.
ACP Administrator Jorge Luis Quijano is optimistic that the contractor Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC) can finish the work, but said that if it has any difficulty, the institution “is able to finish the project,” which is 96 percent complete.
Last week, GUPC said that the completion of the project, slated for April, could be delayed up to six months due to the failure by the ACP to make payments. But Quijano has said that all the contractual requirements regarding the payments have been made.
Quijano said that it can be shown that payments are made promptly in less than 30 days after invoices were submitted and the work has been checked.
The official added that each disbursement is audited by the ACP and the Office of the Comptrolle reports La Prensa.
The ACP also expects that the repair of leaks in the Pacific locks will be completed in mid-January, as scheduled.
Navigation tests are slated to begin in April.
