The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) and the consortium commissioned to construct the canal expansion project, Grupo Unidos por el Canal. S.A. (GUPC), signed an agreement on March 14 for long-term completion of a third set of locks, said GUPC in an emailed press release, following months of gridlock over a $1.6 billion cost overrun dispute. The agreement targets completion of the project by the end of 2015. Both parties are obligated to contribute $100 million in financing, according to the release. GUPC is also coordinating $400 million in financing from international lenders and an insurer, which signed the agreement, said the release.
The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) and the consortium commissioned to complete the canal expansion project, Grupo Unidos por el Canal. S.A. (GUPC), brokered a “conceptual” agreement on Feb. 27 for long-term completion of the third set of locks, said ACP and GUPC in separate statements. The $1.6 billion cost overrun dispute has hampered expansion work for weeks. The apparent compromise comes roughly a week after the two sides reached temporary compromise, and GUPC formally resumed construction on the locks project (see 14022111).
The contractor consortium Grupo Unidos por el Canal. S.A. (GUPC) resumed work Feb. 20 on the embattled Panama Canal expansion project, GUPC and the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) said in separate press releases. The ACP pledged to pay on Feb. 21 the agreed upon $36.8 million for GUPC's December payments and obligations. ACP previously refused to pay the December invoices until work resumed, said an ACP source. The two sides continue to dispute $1.6 billion in cost overrun.
The construction of a third set of locks at the Panama Canal will resume on Feb. 20 after the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) and the contractor commissioned to complete the expansion project brokered a compromise in a cost overrun dispute, said the ACP in a Feb. 19 statement. After construction resumes, ACP said it will pay the contractor, Grupo Unidos por el Canal, S.A. (GUPC), nearly $40 million related to December payments and obligations. GUPC originally demanded a $1.6 billion cost overrun payment, prompting threats in December to discontinue construction (see 14010810).
Negotiations are continuing on Feb. 19 between the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) and the contractor commissioned to complete the canal expansion project, Grupo Unidos por el Canal, S.A. (GUPC), but work on the third set of locks remains suspended, said ACP in a Feb. 18 statement. “Although last week the parties seem to have come to an agreement on certain components during the talks, there were serious disagreements at the time of putting it in writing,” said the statement. “The ACP insisted that work on the new locks resumes immediately through its proposal that each party contribute $100 million, while a definite agreement is reached.”
The consortium commissioned to complete the highly-publicized Panama Canal expansion project, Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC), said on Feb. 6 it ceased work on the third set of locks. The Panama Canal Authority and the GUPC, which includes Spanish building company Sacyr, Salini-Impregilo of Italy, Jan De Nul of Belgium and Constructora Urbana and SA of Panama, are continuing to battle over a cost overrun dispute. ACP said on Feb. 5 that work has been mostly suspended (see 14020601). “Pending an agreement, [work] on the Third Set of Locks Project for the Panama Canal extension have been suspended expressly due to the refusal of ACP to extend a Negotiation Protocol aimed at reaching a solution to permit the continuation and completion of the works,” said GUPC in an emailed statement. Without funding for the project, "GUPC issued an initial notice of suspension on December 30, 2013 and chose voluntarily to defer the suspension of the works as a sign of good faith in an effort to facilitate negotiations.” ACP did not respond for comment.
The construction of a third set of Panama Canal locks has nearly completely halted due to an on-going dispute over a cost overrun, according to a Panama Canal Authority (ACP) statement released on Feb. 5 (here). The consortium commissioned to complete the project, Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC), said ACP abandoned negotiations in a Feb. 5 statement. The two sides have been meeting periodically to resolve the dispute since GUPC threatened to stop construction in late December (see 14012126). Failure to reach an agreement may delay completion by three to five years, said GUPC, citing an estimate by project insurer Zurich.
The consortium contracted to build the third set of Panama Canal locks, Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC), continued construction on Jan. 20, said a Panama Canal Authority (ACP) executive. Formed by firms Sacyr of Spain, Salini-Impregilo of Italy, Jan De Nul of Belgium and Constructora Urbana, SA (CUSA) of Panama, GUPC threatened on Dec. 30 to suspend construction on the canal project if ACP refused to pay a $1.6 billion cost overrun claim (see 14010810). Negotiations remain underway, according to both parties.
The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) released a proposal (here) on Jan. 7 that urged joint contributions to the continued construction of a third set of canal locks in an attempt to resolve an on-going contractual dispute that threatens to derail the expansion effort. The contractor consortium, GUPC, led by the Spanish building company Sacyr, pledged in a Dec. 30 letter to the ACP to discontinue construction of the project unless the ACP pays out cost overrun claims. The ACP proposal, however, calls for cancellation of the intent to suspend work, along with the delivery of four lock gates that were allegedly due to arrive in Panama in November and have been nearly paid for, according to the ACP.
The U.S. must increase the dredging capability of East Coast ports, creating depths of at least 50 feet, in order to maximize the shipping capacity of vessels that will fit in an expanded Panama Canal, said Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli in remarks to reporters, according to a White House release. The remarks came as Vice President Joe Biden, along with an entourage of U.S. political figures, convened with Martinelli in Panama City on Nov. 19.