End in sight for banking area visual pollution

The burying of the mess of overhead cables in Panama’s banking area will resume in the next three months according to the administrator of the National Public Services Authority (Asep), Armando Fuentes.

He confirmed to La Prena that soon a new tender will be made to complete the work that was pending after finishing the contractual relationship with the last companies responsible for implementing the project.

The tender will be carried out by Naturgy, an electric distributor in the area and responsible for the project.

In addition to the completion of civil works in the areas where they were pending, the regulator has authorized both Naturgy and the Cable Soterramiento company, in charge of the part of the telecommunications project, the start of the work of withdrawal of the aerial lines in the capital, and in Santiago de Veraguas and in David, Chiriquí.

The cable underground project aims to improve the quality of the electrical and telecommunications service because the lines will not be exposed to traffic accidents, animals or inclement weather.

In addition, it will be an improvement from the aesthetics point of view of and urbanism.

The architect Luis Alfaro said that the underground is important to improve the safety of pedestrians and reduce visual pollution, among others.

Until a year ago, the official registry showed that $14.4 million had been invested in the telecommunications segment between the underground projects of the banking area, Santiago and David.

$52.4 million were available in the trust created to pay for  the project