Thread: Panama Canal Expansion

This thread is about the Panama Canal Expansion.

Please contribute by posting something informative and useful for other members, including news, maps, photos, videos and audio clips.

A plan to widen the Panama Canal (with a cost of $5 billion) has been approved by the Panamanian Congress. The 80km (50 mile) long Panama Canal handles nearly 5% of global trade. The current locks are 33 meters (108 feet) wide, and the new locks will be 50 meters (150 feet). A third lane of traffic will be able to handle the wider loads. Panama says the cost of the widening of the canal will be met from increased tolls, supplemented by a $2.3 billon loan.



A video on the Panama Canal Expension:



Reports of the expansion of the Panama Canal: Master Plan - PanCanal.com

Here is what I found on the expansion of the Panama Canal.

National Geographic:

Panama Canal Expansion Spurs Environmental Debate
Panama Canal Expansion Spurs Environmental Debate

The best quote of the article (IMHO) was:

"We are more than capable of completing this project," Newman said. "If we don't move forward, we Panamanians will miss out on the revenue the new, bigger ships will bring into the country."



They also have a photo gallery of the expansion (about 5 pics) here:
National Geographic News Photo Gallery: Photo Gallery: Panama Canal Expands

I found another article on Popular Mechanics:

The Panama Canal's Ultimate Upgrade
Panama Canal Expansion - Third Locks Upgrade - Engineering Preview - Popular Mechanics




Current maximum capacity that can pass through, and future capacity.

i've also found these links:

Wikipedia: Panama Canal expansion project - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

BBC News: BBC NEWS | Americas | Panama plans huge canal expansion

Panama Guide: Canal Expansion - Panama Guide

wow its so great development?
but how with about the cost?
anyone know about it?