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During an official visit to Japan this week, President José Raúl Mulino announced plans to create a new “energy corridor” along the route of the Panama Canal. The process will start with the development of a gas pipeline intended to “strengthen the country’s competitiveness and respond to a strategic need of the global energy products market.”

The Panama Canal has already granted its authorization to begin the corresponding concessionaire selection process, indicating that the project is well underway. The concessionaire selection process, which is expected to attract energy players from around the globe, is anticipated to conclude by the Fall of 2026.

The pipeline will represent one of the largest investments in the history of the Canal, according to President Mulino. It will generate billions of dollars of annual revenue and generate more than 15,000 jobs during the construction and operational phases.

“The pipeline we are announcing today is a strategic bet by Panama to remain a key country in the global economy, generating development for Panamanians and ensuring the sustainability and competitiveness of the Panama Canal,” President Mulino said in his Tokyo announcement.

The announcement is a further sign of the continued diversification of Panama’s economy. The evolution is only in its beginning stages, as the country looks to leverage the abundance of resources already in place.

This pipeline is part of a larger strategy to develop an intermodal logistics hub that will include terminals for container transshipment, storage areas, and a road connecting from the Centennial Bridge to the Atlantic Bridge along the west bank of the Canal. The first projects of this intermodal logistics hub are the construction of a container transshipment port in Corozal and another in Telfers, both on the east bank of the Canal, according to the government’s announcement.