A couple of years after the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Panama Canal, the country prepares for the opening of the long awaited expanded Canal on 26 June 2016. This event will mark the conclusion of nine years of engineering works at costs in the region of USD 5.25 billion, although the actual cost figure will perhaps never be known.
The expanded Panama Canal intends to double the capacity of the existing waterway by adding a third set of locks, giving way to ships that can carry over twice as much cargo. Two new sets of locks have been built, one on the Atlantic and one on the Pacific side. As part of the construction works, the existing water channels have been widened and deepened, and the water of the Gatun Lake has been raised to the maximum operating level.
See attached file: Panama Canal Expansion: Bigger Ships, Bigger Risks.pdf
巴拿马运河扩建：船舶大型化，风险加大
在巴拿马运河百年庆典的2年后，2016年6月26日，巴拿马正在筹备翘首以待的运河扩建后的再次通航。这标志着历时9年，耗资约52.5亿美元的运河扩建工程竣工，尽管实际数字不为人知。
扩建后的巴拿马运河，以期通过增加第三套船闸，使航道的通航能力及船舶货物装载量翻倍。在巴拿马运河太平洋和大西洋两端新建2套船闸。同时，拓宽加深现有航道，加通湖水位已上升到最大工作水位。
详细信息请参阅附件。
