"Panama Canal Expansion Project Delayed At Least Seven Months" - Alberto Alemán Zubieta
Faced with a delay of at least seven months in the project to expand the Panama Canal, by the contractor Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC), they are accelerating the work as much as they can in order to deliver the finished work in the time stipulated (October 2014), said today Alberto Alemán Zubieta, who is still the Administrator of the Panama Canal. Alemán Zubieta said the work of pouring cement was supposed to start in January 2011 but it did not start in fact until July 2011. Therefore, the company has brought in more equipment and qualified personnel to accelerate the work, he said. He explained the delay was due to the pouring of concrete. He said the contractor was not allowed to start pouring concrete because the mixture did not have the specifications as ordered for this type of work (the third set of locks), as detailed in the signed contract.
Alberto Alemán Zubieta will be the Administrator of the Panama Canal until 3 September 2012. Only after that date will he consider other job offers, because before he can only focus on his work. Meanwhile, he is preparing writings on the period he was in charge of inter-oceanic canal, for future reference. (La Estrella)
Editor's Comment: Cleanup. Now that Alberto Alemán Zubieta knows he will not be continuing as the Administrator of the Panama Canal, he decided to come out publicly with what I've been reporting since 1 December 2011. Thank you very much, my confidential sources - you guys were right on the money. And until now I was practically the only news outlet (anywhere) reporting on the delays. The Panama Canal Authority was covering it up. The government of Panama was not about to discuss it in public. And of course the GUPC company wasn't going to talk about it, either. So no one wanted to talk, so no news, and no reporting on this important issue. Alberto Alemán Zubieta is saying the GUPC company was not allowed to pour cement because the mix they were using was not up to standards. And now they are supposedly going to bring in more bodies and equipment to make up for lost time. At this point I don't know if it's even possible for them to make up for lost time, to catch up, and to get back on schedule for a 2014 completion. Right now I see that as "slim, to none."
Related Articles:
- Panama Canal Expansion - "A Train Wreck Waiting To Happen" - 1 December 2011
- Expansion of Panama Canal Now "At Least One Year Behind Schedule" (Cover-up) - 6 December 2011
- Panama Canal Expansion 32% Advanced (Inadvertent Confirmation of Delays) - 21 December 2011
Copyright 2012 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.
