Construction will Last 30 Months as San Miguelito Cable Car Enters Contractual Phase.
The cable car project that will impact the districts of San Miguelito and Panama City is entering its contractual phase, after being awarded for $255.1 million to the Austrian company Doppelmayr Panama Corp.
Metro de Panamá, SA (MPSA) will begin the negotiation and contract closing phase with Doppelmayr Panamá Corp., the company awarded the contract for the cable car project in the districts of San Miguelito and Panama. This process could last approximately two weeks before the file is sent to the Comptroller General of the Republic for review and approval. In this new phase, which will begin in the coming days, administrative aspects of the contract will be defined, including insurance, bonds, risk allocation, and the tools for project management and execution.
Once the Comptroller’s Office approves the contract, the notice to proceed can be issued, expected in the last quarter of 2026, explained Alex Quirós, project manager for MPSA. Quirós emphasized that one of the aspects the project will need to address is the resettlement of some families located in areas where cable car components will be installed. The communities in the San Miguelito district identified as potentially impacted are: Valle de Urracá, Mano de Piedra, Torrijos Carter, and Samaria; while in the Panama district they are: Río Abajo and Monte Oscuro.
The Metro indicated that compensation was already included in the project, although the exact number of affected homes has not yet been publicly established. According to the MPSA project manager, construction is estimated to take 30 months after the notice to proceed, plus six months to address outstanding issues and complete contract closure. If the schedule is met without setbacks, the system could be operational by early 2029. The project includes six stations, four located in San Miguelito and two in Panama City, with an estimated capacity of 2,800 passengers per hour in each direction. The project aims to reduce travel times for residents of the more distant areas of San Miguelito and will connect with Metro Line 2 at the Cincuentenario station. If you have Instagram, you can view the cable car concept below……..
https://www.instagram.com/p/Dc1Z5xOoMCB/?img_index=1
The awarding of the Panama and San Miguelito Cable Car project marks another step forward in a public transportation system that will facilitate connections between communities like Samaria, Mano de Piedra, Valle de Urracá, and Torrijos Carter and the Panama Metro network. With approximately 6.6 kilometers of track and six stations, the future system will integrate with Line 2 at Cincuentenario and contribute to expanding mobility options for thousands of users.
