Third round of talks on Canal crisis fail

PRESIDENT Ricardo Martinelli’s hopes of a happy ending to the third round of talks between the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) and the Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC), were dashed on Tuesday, February 4.

After an intense session discussion , led by the legal teams of the conflicting parties, the third stage of negotiation ended without a resolution.

February 4 was the second Day Zero, when the consortium had said that if a decision was not reached, they would cease work on the third set of locks for the Panama Canal expansion. An earlier date had been February 1.
The conflicting parties extended their meeting late into the night, but with no resolution to the crisis over the lack of liquidity of GUPC, trying to avoid abandonment if the assumed cost overruns, estimated AT $1.6 billion were not recognized.
Tuesday was a day marked by secrecy, reports La Prensa but for much of the day information pointed to the proximity of an agreement , which helped Sacyr shares in Spain rise by over 6 %., and President, Martinelli, predicted a "happy ending" to the conflict.
But well into the night, it was reported that the meeting ended without success.
No official statement was issued by the ACP but an early announcement about future options is expected.