In an effort to avoid a threatened shutdown of work on the $5.2-billion expansion of the Panama Canal, the authority that oversees the historic waterway proposed a joint financing scheme to its construction team on Jan. 7 to cover cost overruns. But it is not clear whether a short-term deal will keep building progress on track.
Officials of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) and contractor Grupo Unidos por El Canal (GUPC) met to hammer out details of the $283-million proposal. No agreement was reached concerning the contractor's recent threat to stop work if ACP did not pay for $1.63 billion in cost overruns.