The Panama Canal will be operational in the first quarter of 2016

USPA NEWS - The Spanish Minister of Development, Ana Pastor, announced that the construction of the Panama Canal are very advanced and almost 95% of execution, so this infrastructure could be operational in the first quarter of 2016.

Pastor made the announcement during a trip to Panama, where he visited the Panama Canal accompanied by the Minister for Canal Affairs, Roberto Roy, who thanked the confidence in Spanish companies. During his visit to the Central American country, Pastor met with the president of Panama, Juan Carlos Varela, which discussed the good and intense relations between the two countries and in particular the links on issues related to infrastructure.

The Minister of Development stressed the strong relations maintained with Panama over the past three years, which met five times, largely to strengthen the important linkages in infrastructure development between Panama and Spain. After the meeting, the minister signed with Minister of the Presidency of Panama, Alvaro German, a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation on Transportation and Infrastructure.

The Memorandum, which shall be valid for five years automatically renewable, is to define, promote and strengthen cooperation in transport, infrastructure and public facilities between Spain and Panama. The areas of cooperation covered are, firstly, planning, design, construction, supervision, maintenance and operation of infrastructure and logistics facilities and transport services by road, rail, sea and air, as well as urban and metropolitan transport; on the other it comes to performance and management control of transportation and logistics services; and finally cooperation in the area of water supply and treatment of urban solid waste.

Pastor expressed his satisfaction with the signing of this agreement since "further strengthened, if anything, the ties between the two countries" and said that this memorandum "will bring significant benefits to both parties," once the presence of Spanish companies the country is close to the 400 with a portfolio of contracts awarded since 2009 of over 6,300 million euros and directly employs about 15,000 workers, contributing significantly to growth.

In this regard, the Minister of Public Works confirmed the interest shown by various Spanish companies to participate in upcoming projects, such as the subway line 3 and the new bridge over the Canal. Pastor also was pleased with the interest of the Panamanian government that Ineco participate in the Infrastructure and Facilities Plan for social and economic development of Panama in the period 2015-2025. He also offered the availability of the Spanish public company to assist in the implementation of public investment plans and maintenance of public infrastructure.

He also recalled that "good work and cutting-edge technology" made six of the 15 leading companies in transport infrastructure management in the world are Spanish. In fact, Spanish companies have been awarded contracts abroad worth 15,810 million euros until this May. For the Spanish Government, this level of collaboration demonstrates the importance of Spanish companies and their international recognition.