“This is a very important milestone for the expansion programme,” said Panama Canal Administrator Jorge L. Quijano. “We see how the new locks are rapidly taking shape as we move towards the successful completion of the project.”
The gate will be located in lock head two in the new locks on the Atlantic side. The installation of the gate began early in the morning and is expected to be completed in the next couple of days. The steel gates are moved using self-propelled motorized wheel transporters (SPMTs) with more than 400 wheels each.
The gate currently being installed is 10 m wide, 30.19 m in height and weighs 3,285 tonnes. In total, the new locks will have 16 rolling gates, eight in the Pacific and eight in the Atlantic.
Overall, the Panama Canal expansion programme is 84% complete. As the dry season will soon begin in January, it is likely that the expansion programme will accelerate with looking at making the first tests during next year.
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