The old city of Panama has tremendous potential for tourism. Its narrow streets and beautiful architectural facades from an earlier century could attract many just as Cartegena does in Colombia. One of the issues that has held the area back is that many Panamanians had bought old buildings at very low prices years ago with the requirement that they renovate them within a certain time period of purchase. Unfortunately, few did the renovation and no previous government had enforced the agreement, until now. I think this is an extremely important decision by the government in order to get the old city looking like it did when it was originally built.
From La Prensa: The government intends to expropriate buildings in Casco Viejo that were acquired by investors to renovate, but who have not yet started work.
The implementation of this measure was promoted by María Eugenia Herrera, general director of the National Institute of Culture.
"At Casco Viejo, we are lacking people who invested to build fast," she said.
This is one of the steps being taken by the government to preserve the area, which has been named a World Heritage Site by the United Nations. The area, however, is considered in danger because of lack of work to preserve it.
The National Institute of Culture has submitted a draft to UNESCO with corrective actions to be implemented to safeguard the area, including providing for the removal of overhead wires and repairs to the streets.
"There is a master plan, but we can not anticipate how it will be carried out because first we have to do consultations," Herrera said. "UNESCO may propose alternatives, and we have to see what is most viable."
The government is also facing a deadline for submitting master plans for Portobelo and San Lorenzo, which will run between 2010 and 2013. Herrera said that the priority in these cases is restoration and conservation, while later stages will focus on how to market the area to tourists. The government has already allocated $250,000 to do routine maintenance at these sites.
The fact that Panama is preparing and submitting these action plans to UNESCO does not guarantee that these ´places will not be included in the list of "at risk" World Heritage Sites next year.
"Panama has failed to fulfill its obligations for a long time, and has not sent in the required reports," said Sebastian Paniza, president of ICOMOS Panama, the technical advisory body of UNESCO. "But it can avoid inclusion on the list if there is a willingness to improve things."
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