David Wong
Latin American History
Aug 14, 2014
Current Event 1
Source: CNN, Aug 13, 2014. Camilo Egaña
El Canal de Panamá, una gran obra en expansión
After 100 years of the opening of the first inter-oceanic man built canal, the Panama Canal is ready por another expansion. On July 11, 2014, it was anounced that the expansion will last about one more year than it was set on the year 2012. Categorized as a "shame", the delay is due to an unwillingness to pay 1,600 million dolars from the Canal Authority for unanticipated expenses. about 300 million dolars are lost due to this type of delays. This expansion is of great benefit to Panama because it will allow bigger ships for Asia-America trade and make great profit of it. As comerce expads between China and USA, Panama beefits greatly because of the tons of shipment through the Canal.
With more techology and money, countries like USA and China can make bigger ships to trade faster with each other.
The bigger the ships get, the bigger the canal must be so these trade can happen. These ships have nowhere to go without a canal big enough to go through. Which is why it was smart from Panama to make the investment of expansion to the canal. I think it is best for the world to make this expansion because it increases the ability to trade more at a faster rate. Although those delays are costing them a lot of money, this expasion makes it more than affordable.