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Work is set to resume on a much-anticipated fourth bridge over the Panama Canal, which will provide a new link between Panama City and the western beach communities.

The planning and design efforts will restart “in the coming months,” the Ministry of Public Works announced this week after a new addendum was signed with the consortium of Chinese companies set to build the bridge.

“During the following months the consortium’s team of experts will continue the detailed development of the design, studies, and other fieldwork, with a view to initiating the larger works in the coming months,” Panama Minister of Public Works Rafael Sabonge said at the signing ceremony.

The new bridge will play a key role in easing traffic to the western beach communities, which will be a huge plus for Panama City residents. The bridge is expected to speed up daily traffic for more than 70,000 vehicles and benefits 1.7 million people, according to estimates by Panama’s Ministry of Public Works.

At PPR, we’re already seeing tremendous interest in property in booming beach areas like Chame and the Playa Caracol beach areas, which will benefit from the easier drive from the capital when the new bridge is finished. Some of the interest is from second-home buyers looking for a beach escape, but we’re also seeing interest from investors, who recognize the relatively untapped potential in the western communities.

The Chinese consortium is made up of the state-owned China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) and China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC). The latest addendum makes changes to the original plan, including eliminating a viewpoint and the restaurant that was considered in the original design. It also separates the plan to build an extension of the metro over the Canal from the bridge construction plan, according to coverage in La Estrella.