Darn it! Just when I decided to swing over the positive camp on the canal expansion this article comes out the very next day in Bloomberg. According to the story, the quotes for the largest contract (big locks) have come out 35% higher than was anticipated. Apparently all three bids were well over the number hoped for by the ACP, which now puts the project in limbo. My understanding was that the meat of the project was expected to be under $2.5 billion, but if they are 35% over that it would add about a billion more dollars to the project. Although this may have come as a surprise to the ACP, most engineers who studied the project are not at all surprised as they expected the cost of this mega project to far exceed expectations. If it is only 35% then I say it is still well below realistic expectations and we should go for it. Remember my ten reasons put aside costs and only look at the benefits.
Panama Canal Expansion Bids Overshoot Budget 35%, Cinco Reports
By Gianluca Baratti
May 25 (Bloomberg) -- Three bids to widen the Panama Canal
are as much as 35 percent over the budget set by the canal’s
administrators and may delay building, Cinco Dias reported,
citing an unidentified executive at a Spanish company involved
in the bidding.
Bids from partnerships that include Mitsubishi Corp.,
Hochtief AG and Sacyr Vallehermoso SA are higher than the
$5.2 billion valuation of the project by the Panama Canal
Authority and may push the award of the project beyond a July
deadline, the paper said.
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