wednesday, may 20, 2009
Panama Canal Third Lane Expansion
The $5.25 billion Third Lane Expansion of the Panama Canal has made quite a bit of progress in the past 21 months and it's getting ready to kick into an even higher gear.To date, substantial work has been done on the Pacific Access Channel as well as dredge works on the Pacific entrance to the waterway. (In addition to ongoing dredge and construction efforts undertaken by the Panama Canal Authority).
In July, the Panama Canal Authority is slated to award the estimated $3.3 billion design/build contract for the construction of the new locks. Three consortia comprised of more than two dozen international firms are vying for the historic job.
To prepare for that vast undertaking, the canal authority has partnered with Denver, Col.-based CH2M Hill to create an innovative management team that will oversee the effort.
I traveled to Panama last month and spent almost two weeks researching an overview on the canal expansion that is available in this week's Engineering News-Record.
The package includes a look at the ACP/CH2M Hill partnership, Panama Widens Horizons, an overview of the dry excavation effort, Ongoing Canal-Related Work Is a Blast and a look at how construction firms are using the opportunity, Firms Seize Panama's Non-Canal Construction Opportunities. There is also an online-only Q&A with the head of CH2M Hill's expansion effort, Ten Minutes With Mike Kennedy.
This issue is one of ENR's "digital only" efforts and an online copy can be found here and a two-minute narrated slideshow of the expansion effort I made is available here.
more: Engineering News & Record | Panama | The Panama Canal
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