An infographic released by the Panama Canal Authority provides a useful summary for explaining the canal’s expansion plans, with a map of how the finished route is intended to look when it is completed in 2016.
In a previous article by PTI, an infographic was shown of how a Panama Canal transit would work from the start of the Gatun Locks to through to the Pacific Ocean.
In the summary infographic, a bigger picture is painted of the canal’s expansion, with colour coded numbers that detail construction points at various points of the waterway.
The new locks will have more efficient rolling gates in comparison to the old locks, which will help to facilitate maintenance and ship movements.
Another key feature of the new locks is the water re-utilisation basins that have been built to reduce water usage by around 60%.
The proposed re-expansion would see a fourth set of locks created at an anticipated US$17 billion, with sources of funding currently unknown.
See below for the summary infographic:
(Source: Panama Canal)
