It has not been without its travails – leaking locks, collapsed walls and extraordinary budget overruns – but Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC), the consortium expanding the Panama Canal, said yesterday the project is now ready to accept vessels. The official opening of the expanded canal will take place in just over three weeks, with Splash on hand to report live from the event.
GUPC said yesterday that the third set of locks were now working fine, the last major hurdle for completion of the $7bn expansion.
“The project is ready to receive the first vessel, demonstrating that it works perfectly and that we fully complying with the requirements of the contract,” said Giuseppe Quarta, coo of GUPC.
A Cosco ship was drawn as the first ship to make the transit from the Pacific to the Atlantic on June 26.
