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Panama Plans to Deepen Canal
Panama plans to deepen sections of the Panama Canal, part of its ongoing effort to increase the canal's capacity for larger ships, the Panama Canal Authority announced Thursday.
The project calls for deepening part of Gatun Lake as well as a section of the route known as the Gaillard Cut, the tightest section of the canal. Workers will deepen by at least 3 feet the shallowest parts, the Panama Canal Authority said in a news release.
Construction should begin in October, take roughly eight years to complete and $14 million in the first year, 2002.
Officials said the canal's current depth is limiting the amount of cargo for Panamax ships, the largest ships that can pass through the canal.
The United States turned the Panama Canal over to Panama on Dec. 31, 1999. An average of 35 boats pass through it each day.
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