Panama – The new Panama Canal, built by the European consortium led by the Salini Impregilo Group, celebrates its first year with a record number of transits: more than 1,500 New Panamax ships have sailed through the Canal, exceeding all expectations for the first 12 months of activity.
Inaugurated on June 26, 2016 the engineering feat is one of the most complex and significant infrastructures to be built in decades. Its numbers are escalating both in terms of efficiency (operations) and economics. Panama’s profits leaped forward with the transit of these large ships that exceed 360 metres in length with triple the cargo capacity compared with ships sailing through the old canal. During the past year the average daily number of transits reached 6-7, against the forecasted 5, thanks to the reduced opening-closing times of the sluice system designed and built in Italy, and to the training provided by the consortium. (9colonne)
