First Lock Gate Installed on Pacific Side of Expanded Panama Canal

Another important milestone within the development of the expanded Panama Canal this week: the set up of the primary new lock gate on the Pacific aspect.

The Panama Canal Authority experiences that the primary gate for the Pacific aspect locks was carried to its vacation spot on 400-wheel self-propelled motorized wheel transporters (SPMTs) and put in on Monday. Overall, the Canal enlargement undertaking is presently 85 p.c full.

The gate, situated in what is named lock head one, is the primary of eight gates that might be put in within the new locks on the Pacific aspect of the waterway. The metal rolling gate measures 8 meters extensive, 57.6 meters lengthy and 22.28 meters in peak, weighing 2,300 tons.

“[Monday’s] installation marks an important step towards the completion of the Expansion Program,” mentioned Panama Canal Administrator/CEO Jorge L. Quijano. “This project will have an important impact on world maritime trade and will further position Panama as the logistic hub of the Americas.”

The set up of the gates for the brand new locks started in December 2014 on the Atlantic aspect, the place two gates have already been put in. The two new lock complexes can have a complete of 16 gates, eight within the Pacific and eight within the Atlantic, which had been delivered from Italy in shipments of 4 starting in August 2013. All 16 gates have the identical size – 57.6 meters – however range in peak, width and weight relying on their location within the locks.

The Panama Canal Expansion consists on the development of a 3rd lane of site visitors permitting the passage of bigger vessels, which is able to successfully double the Canal’s capability. The Third Set of Locks are anticipated to turn into operational in January 2016.

News of this week’s milestone comes amid reports that the enlargement undertaking has incurred $2.39 billion in price overruns, in line with new data from Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC), which is the consortium overseeing the enlargement undertaking. The enlargement had been forecasted to price $5.25 billion.