Canal Expansion to count on European Investment

A cooperation agreement was signed, whereby the EU will donate to Panama 38 million Euros (54 million dollars) between 2007 and 2013.

In a recent diplomatic visit of the Commissioner of Foreign Affairs and Community Policy of the European Union and executives from the European Investment Bank, it was announced that an investment of 428 million dollars (300 million Euros) will be made in the Panama Canal Expansion works. The bank executives, who have already financed other local projects such as the Puente Centenario, expressed their firm interest in participating in the expansion. Given this situation, Carl- Fredrik Nordström, Deputy General Manager of the Panama Tourism Bureau (IPAT), said that “in the past months, a significant number of delegations from all over the world have shown their interest and have come to our country attracted by the impact of the expansion of the interoceanic waterway will have on maritime trade and the international economy, we trust that this boom will also be reflected in the tourism sector”. In their visit to Panama, the EU representatives presented a new program of cooperation and participation of Panama in the negotiations between the EU and Central America. Likewise, a cooperation agreement was signed whereby the EU will donate to Panama 38 million Euros (54 million dollars) between 2007 and 2013.