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Panama Canal agreement comes into force

The agreement between Panama Canal Authority (ACP) and Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC) for the completion of the third set of locks has come into force as all required signatures have been gathered.

Michele Labrut, Americas Correspondent

March 21, 2014

1 Min Read
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All the members of the consortium, including Construction Urbana (CUSA), and the guarantor Zurich North America have now ratified the accord that ended a dispute which started in early January and led the consortium to stop working for two weeks in February.

The agreement releases funds allowing GUPC to pay its subcontractos and return to full strength on the works. GUPC returned to the construction sites in February, but with only 30% of activity, pending the agreement's signing.

The agreement and its terms were announced at the end of last week.

Officially the new date for the completion is December 2015, which will be followed by several tests, with commercial transits in the first half of 2016. However, the consortium has the titanic task of trying to make up time for the two months lost this year.

About the Author

Michele Labrut

Americas Correspondent

Michèle Labrut is a long-time Panama resident, a journalist and correspondent, and has continuously covered the maritime sector of Central & Latin America.

Michèle first came to Panama as a press attaché to the French Embassy and then returned to the isthmus as a foreign correspondent in the 1980s.

Author of Seatrade Maritime's annual Panama Maritime Review magazine and of several books, Michèle also wrote for Time magazine, The Miami Herald, NBC News and the Economist Intelligence Unit. She has also collaborated in making several documentaries for the BBC and European and U.S. television networks.

Michèle's profession necessitates a profound knowledge of the country, but her acumen is not from necessity alone, but a genuine passion for Panama.

In 2012 she was awarded the Order of Merit (Knight grade) by the French Government for her services to international journalism and in 2021 the upgrade to Chevalier grade.

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