Crisis will not affect the canal

PANAMA. The global financial crisis will not affect the project to widen the canal, said the Canal Affairs Minister, Romulo Roux.

The minister said there is already an approved budget of $2.3 billion to pay for the works and the Panama Canal Authority will provide the rest of the money. It is estimated that the project will cost approximately $5.2 billion.

Roux said that the income generated by the waterway traffic has increased in comparison with the same period last year although there has been a small decrease in the number of vessels and tonnage through the canal.

“The canal revenues have not been affected. I do not want to say that it is immune to what is happening around the world but, according to our predictions, the impact is going to be minimum over the next few months,” said Roux.

The minister said that the widening of the canal would generate 8,000 direct jobs and thousands of indirect ones.

The project is scheduled for completion in 2014 and will allow super ships larger than the Panamax to use the waterway.