Consortium lists claims against Canal Authority as income

THE ONGOING battle over costs between the Panama Canal Authority(ACP) and the consortium that won the contract for the expansion project continues.and although $910 millions of claims have not been approved the contractor Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC), has listed the amount as income for 2014.

The information was contained in a report submitted to the Spanish National Securities Commission by Sacyr, one of the four companies that are part of the consortium. This amount represents 34 percent of the claims submitted by the consortium. The final amount will be determined by a mediator or arbitration.
Accounting experts said that the company was following the proper procedure in listing the claims as revenue.
GUPC has submitted claims totaling $2.7 billion, The ACP said it has received claims totaling $16 million less than that amount.
Claims for cost overruns are first evaluated by the ACP, and then by a board consisting of three engineers, one appointed by each side and the third by joint agreement. Either side can appeal a board decision to international arbitrators.
The ACP has paid $2.901 billion of the amount claimed, but is disputing $233 million of that amount.
The largest claim, totaling $898 million, was due to so-called “delays, disruptions and accelerations of work.”
ACP Administrator Jorge Luis Quijano has asked the consortium to be more specific about the claims before a decision can be made whether or not to pay them.