Strike threatens Canal expansion deadline

AS THE TUMULT of Panama’s election campaign moves to become part of history, the ongoing problems of the Canal expansion project and its effect on the economy are moving back into focus.

The strike called by construction workers is having a strong impact on the country's largest infrastructure.

The strike began on April 23 , as  the National Trade Union of Construction and Allied Workers (Suntracs ) to pressure  employers to meet their requirements in the collective bargaining agreement for the period 2014-2017.

On Tuesday , May 6, as the strike moved completed its 14th day The administrator of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP ), Jorge Luis Quijano acknowledged the impact on both the future income of the waterway and the delay in the execution of the work.

"The contractor has told us that it is going to impact them in time and are going to claim the costs of this. We'll see if it has merit or not, “he said.
Once the negotiation is resolved and employment rises, " I would expect that the contractor could recover some of the delay, but we have to see how long it is. If this week it is resolved in the 18 months left to finish the work could recover some of the time, but it is difficult to predict."
Wth the entry of the rainy season, the strike affects the construction of dams, concrete repairs in critical areas, the transport of aggregate to the Atlantic, which can delay the placement of concrete in critical areas say sources familiar with the project.

The effect of the strike, who yesterday completed its thirteenth day , adds to the delay caused by the crisis at the beginning of the year between the ACP and Grupo Unidos por el Canal ( GUPC ) contractor in charge of the third set of locks, the major expansion program work.

At that time, the lack of liquidity led the  construction consortium to gradually reduced activity until there was a complete standstill for 15 days.