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In the News from Panama

Panama City Cable Removal Project Progressing

The formal process of undergrounding cables in the banking district of downtown Panama is set to continue in the next few months.

This a great project that will help beautify one of the key parts of the city. Cables are always unsightly in a city; moving them underground makes the streets prettier and adds security by protecting cables from storms and accidents.

The project has been around for several years, but the project stalled about a year ago. But a number of hurdles have been cleared and the project is once again moving forward, according to government officials. The work will be carried out by Naturgy, an electricity company, and Cable Soterramiento, which have already received support for starting work from ASEP, the regulatory body.

“Physically, in three months they will be seeing the drop in electric cables,”.the administrator of the National Public Services Authority (Asep), Armando Fuentes.

The boundaries of the project are Avenida Federico Boyd, Via Espana, Via Brazil and Calle 50. The first part of the project will focus on the civil works, such as the construction of pipelines and underground chambers for the cables. In some areas, the government is ready to put out calls for companies to install the new cable and telecommunication lines, the paper says. 

The architect Luis Alfaro said that the underground is important “to improve the safety of pedestrians and reduce visual pollution,” La Prensa reports. “In addition, the disappearance of poles and cables would allow people to populate tree avenues, causing a positive effect on the urban environment.”

Panama has authorized similar efforts in Santiago de Veraguas and David, Chiriquí.