Panama Canal officials offered Tuesday to share the burden in a 283 million dollars fund to end a spat with a consortium threatening to halt the waterway's expansion over huge cost overruns. The proposal came after two days of intense talks under mediation of a Spanish cabinet minister who flew to Panama City for emergency meetings aimed at preventing a shutdown of the major project.
Spain stepped in on Friday to try to resolve a cost dispute over the expansion of Panama's canal, which has triggered a sell-off in the shares of Sacyr SA, the Spanish builder leading the project. Spain's Public Works minister, Ana Pastor, and Sacyr Chairman Manuel Manrique are due to travel to Panama on the weekend, Panama's president, Ricardo Martinelli, said.
Following the recommendation from the Board of Directors of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), the Panamanian government approved this week the proposal to restructure the Panama Canal's pricing system.
Heavy rains have forced the temporary suspension of traffic along the Panama Canal, the major shipping waterway connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans which handles 5% of global trade.