The first container terminal is to be constructed in Colon, Panama by a Chinese consortium entitled Panama Colon Container Port and will be located on the Atlantic entrance of the Panama Canal, according to JOC.com.
The aim of the terminal is to accommodate post-Panamax ships, particularly after the completion of the Panama Canal Expansion, which is due to be inaugurated on June 26, 2016.
This announcement follows news that a second container terminal entitled the Corozal Container Terminal, located at Corozal Port is to be built.
Four port operators were recently announced as pre-qualifying for the design development and construction of the container terminal, including APM Terminals, PSA International and Terminal Investment Limited.
Technical Paper: Port expansion through land reclamation
The canal project itself is still ongoing, as developers push on with the final phase of the canal’s development, which is the construction of machinery rooms and control buildings.
New draft restrictions were set along the canal as a result of weather conditions that caused the water levels of the Gatun Lake to fall.
The draft is now set at 12.8 metres for neo-Panamax vessels.
The testing phase for the water-saving basins of the Agura Clara Locks’ upper chamber recently took place, in which the basins were filled.
