Work will begin in August on the planned $5.2 billion expansion of the Panama Canal, a senior government official said on Friday, after the first tender offers were submitted for first phase of the ambitious project.
Panama's Canal Minister Dani Kuzniecky told Reuters that work could now begin "by the end of August" after the government received 10 proposals to begin dry excavations.
Bids for the first tender of a five-phase plan ranged from $41 million and $89.9 million and came from European, Latin American and US groups, including one linked to Mexican billionaire tycoon Carlos Slim. All 10 bids were opened at a public ceremony, an attempt to prove that the multibillion-dollar project will not marred by cronyism and corruption.
Jorge Quijano, the Panama Canal Authority's head of engineering for the expansion program, told Reuters a decision would be taken on the winning bid within 10 days.
"We feel very comfortable with the bids that we have seen," said Quijano. "They are well within our estimates." This first phase of work is expected to conclude within 945 days, or by March 2010.
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