Last big job - Panama takes bids for Pacific access dredging

THE Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has received three bids from international firms vying to dredge and excavate the Pacific Access Channel (PAC) entrance.

This is the last major expansion contract to be awarded and once completed, will allow larger ships to enter the new access channel and reach the new Pacific Locks, linking ships to Gaillard Cut, the narrowest stretch of the canal system.


The ACP will award the contract to the firm with the lowest-priced bid that meets specifications. The contractor then has a 90-day procurement and mobilisation period before receiving the notice to proceed.


Bidding companies are Jan De Nul offering to do the job for US$54,550,647, the International Underground Corporation, bidding $55,329,492 and BKI-MECO with a $71,344,784 bid.


Said ACP vice president, of engineering and programme management, Jorge Quijano: "Each day, we gain momentum and are well on our way to meeting the deadline and staying on track for expansion`s completion in 2014."


The work will include an estimated four million cubic metres of dredging and excavation of the Pacific entrance. Expansion will build a new lane of traffic along the Panama Canal through the construction of a new set of locks, which will double capacity and allow more traffic and longer, wider ships.