The expansion of the Panama Canal is said to be completed in April 2016

Panama - The new part of the Panama Canal will be completed in April 2016 after several delays and budget overruns. This was announced by the Panamanian government. In the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, workers installed the last of 16 giant gates of the locks, which are part of the expansion of this waterway. In the coming weeks, the most critical phase of the project will follow, namely filling the water.
After modernization, ships carrying up to 14,000 containers will be able to pass through the canal, which is three times the current capacity. The canal expansion is being carried out by a consortium of companies from Belgium, Italy, Panama, and Spain.
"There are still 11 months left; on April 1, 2016, the canal will be open for international shipping," said Roberto Roy, the minister in charge of canal operations. "Now we just need to step on the gas and finish the construction," he was quoted as saying by foreign media.
The modernization of the canal began in 2007 and was supposed to be completed in 2014, coinciding with the hundredth anniversary of the Panama Canal's creation. However, the project has been marked by repeated delays.
The construction is now a year behind schedule, and its cost has reached $5.25 billion. This is $2 billion more than promised by the consortium of companies led by the Spanish company Sacyr, which won the bid for the canal's expansion.
The consortium won with a price of $3.2 billion, which was significantly lower than what the competition offered and the estimate by the Panamanian PCA authority that manages the canal. The estimated price was $3.8 billion. Later, however, Sacyr claimed that it received inaccurate information from the PCA regarding various aspects related to the construction and that the costs unexpectedly increased.
About five percent of the world's maritime traffic passes through the Panama Canal, with the United States and China being the biggest users. The capacity of the 100-year-old structure is no longer sufficient.