News

Panama’s government is wasting no time turning the dream of a fourth bridge over the Panama Canal into a reality.

The latest: a vote has been scheduled for Nov. 7 to approve the design and construction of the bridge, which will include six lanes for cars and space for the extension of the Panama City metro. The vote is a major step as the Ministry of Public Works moves ahead with the bidding process, with the deadline for proposals in January, La Prensa reports.

As we reported in August, six international companies have been approved to bid on the construction process, including Odebrecht, Sacyr and two Chinese consortiums. The project is expected to cost about $1 billion.

The bridge will be more than 1,000 meters long between expansion joints and supported by two 185-meter towers “shaped like inverted Ys,” La Prensa reports. The project will cover 6.5 kilometers, starting at the Albrook metro station and connecting to the Pan-American Highway west of the Canal. Plans also call for the highway from the Canal to Arraiján to be expanded to eight lanes, according to La Prensa.

The bridge will be a game-changer for Panama, providing new and easy connections between Panama City and the communities and beach resorts to the West. More than 1.7 million users, including industrial and service sectors across the country, will benefit from the construction of the project, MOP says.

If all goes according to plan, the project could begin construction next year. It is estimated that the project will take 3 ½ years to build, which means the new bridge could be in operation in 2020 or 2021.