Yacht club won’t block coastal strip

Special Projects director of the Ministry of Public Works, Carlos Ho Gonzalez said that they are going to build an extra landfill of 30,000 square meters, which will become the new locations for the club and its marina.

The yacht club will have to design its own headquarters and marina, but the design will need the approval of the Public Works and Housing Ministries. “It is expected that the club will present its blueprints this week.

“Once they have been approved, the construction should be starting under the supervision of both ministries.”

Ho added that the Yacht Club has to be included in the Coastal Strip, because it has title to the land and a current concession. In return for the new piece of land of three hectares, the club is transferring its old property free of charge to the government and it will also redeem the concession. It will have to ask for a new one from the Maritime Authority to build the club.

In the case of the Miramar Intercontinental Hotel, Ho said its owners asked for a hectare of land in order to construct 280 underground parking spaces. The hotel has a breakwater over which it has built a parking lot. The Coastal Strip is going to swallow part of the breakwater, and isolate the rest.

“We came to an agreement with the hotel’s owners in which they are able to construct their underground parking lot, at their cost, once the blueprints have been approved by the Ministry of Public Works.

“The top part of it will become the State’s property, on which the landscapers from the Coastal Strip could design a park or build more parking spaces. The Miramar hotel will pay the cost, but that area will belong to the government,” said Ho.

The Miramar hotel has received a concession from the Economy and Finance Ministry and can now proceed to construct their underground parking lot when they receive approval from the Public Works Ministry.

According to the Director the coastal strip is 42 percent complete and the construction company more than likely will complete the project on time, before the end of the present government’s term.

The ambitious project has three elements: an urban park of 262,000 square meters, a cleaning system for the city of Panama, that will collect sewer waters from the north part of the coastal strip and contribute to the sanitation of the bay.

The last component is the new roads and vehicular flyovers designed to smooth the flow of traffic in the area.

The coastal strip construction started on December 6, 2007 and currently around 227 different works are taking place at the same time.

“The landfill on Balboa Avenue is progressing at a good rate as well as the breakwater barriers which have been built using special concrete blocks in the form of an X that fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, which can resist the punishment of the waves,” said Ho.

There are plans to build 1,200 public parking spaces that could be managed by the Mayor’s Office or the institution responsible for the maintenance and administration of the Coastal Strip.

Vasco Núñez de Balboa monument, will be moved to its new place on the landfill at the end of December.