Panama Canal Receives Bids for Two Port Projects, Investment Approximately $2.6 Billion

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Companies interested in building two ports at the Panama Canal (Canal de Panamá) submitted legal, financial, and technical documents on July 9 as part of the bidding process. These documents will be used to screen qualified companies to advance the project, valued at approximately $2.6 billion.

Panama Canal Affairs Minister José Ramón Icaza stated that the port bidding process was launched on January 30 this year, with the release of pre-qualification documents for the construction of ports at Corozal on the Pacific side and Telfels on the Atlantic side. The port bidding will be conducted separately, a arrangement communicated to the industry during a project presentation on October 27 and in individual meetings with interested parties.

It remains unclear how long the technical evaluation committee will take to select companies eligible to proceed to the next round and submit bids. However, Canal officials indicated last October that they expect to award port concession contracts in 2026, with operations slated to begin in 2029.

The Canal Authority has held individual meetings with representatives of the following companies regarding the port projects: APM Terminals (Netherlands), Cosco Shipping Ports (China), CMA Terminals (France), DP World (UAE), Hanseatic Global Terminals (Netherlands), MOL (Japan), PSA International (Singapore), SSA Marine–Grupo Carrix (USA), Terminal Investment Limited (Switzerland), ONE (Japan), and Evergreen (Taiwan).

The project involves developing two container transshipment port terminals, aiming to increase the country's transshipment capacity by an additional 5 to 6 million TEUs annually. Between 3% and 5% of global trade volume passes through the canal. The Panama Canal, a national autonomous entity with a constitutional chapter, is venturing into the port sector. The five existing terminals around the waterway are all concession projects managed by the Panama Maritime Authority (Autoridad Marítima de Panamá, AMP).

Similar to the natural gas pipeline project, which costs at least $4 billion, the port bidding conditions have also undergone revisions following consultations and comments from interested companies. This led to an extension of the pre-qualification period, requiring port project documentation to be submitted by July 9, while pipeline project documents must be submitted by July 23.

After publishing the list of qualified companies, the Canal Authority will continue dialogue with the industry as part of the process to advance project definition, concession models, and the concession contract for the pipeline route (referring to liquefied petroleum gas, LPG).