Disputed wall demolition starts as court battles loom

After months  of wrangling The Ministry of Public Works (MOP) began on  Wednesday, December 4, to dismantle part of a  private structure to allow for road improvements  but a business owner claims  the wall is within  the property of the Kiener Processor, located at the intersection of the road Transistmica and 12 de Octubre Avenue .

Arcelio Tejada, director of special projects of the MOP, said that talks were already held with the owner of the factory to tear down the wall that divides the easement.

In the area, road returns will be built under the Panama Metro viaduct. The works should take about three months.

It is the second time that the MOP tried to take control of the land, but Juan Francisco Kiener, the owner of the company, had refused to have the wall dismantled. He claimed that it is within his property reports La Prensa.

 After conversations with authorities, Kiener said on Wednesday, that he would not resist the entry of workers carrying out the demolition.  

However, he maintains the position that it is private land, and  has filed lawsuits with the Supreme Court

“We have been paying taxes for this property for more than 70 years” and if the MOP wants to intervene in this area, in his opinion, there are two ways to do it: “the purchase or expropriation, and they have not wanted to use any of those alternatives,” said Kiener.

The works are part of the rehabilitation of the Transistmica highway that was in poor condition once construction work on the first line of the Panama Metro was completed. The work is executed by the Costa Rican company MECO, at a cost of $87.5 million

In August  MOP granted MECO an addendum of time to complete the rehabilitation work on the Transistmica Highway/

The MOP minister, Rafael Sabonge, has pointed out in the recent past that the time addendums occurred because the effects of the easement and public services depend on third parties, that is, on such as the Institute of  Aqueducts and Sewers (Idaan)  and electricity companies.

According to the contract between the MOP and the construction company during the last administration, the duration of the work was 548 days. However, it was extended by  236 days (almost eight months).