It is anticipated that the project to renovate the Curundú area of Panama City will be done by the end of 2011. At least 500 families currently living in Curundú are negotiating with the Ministry of Housing and Land Management to be relocated, while the construction to renovate the area continues. This was announced today, Monday, by the Minister of Housing and Land, Carlos Dubois, who said that so far 500 families have agreed to be relocated and that he is working with the community so that about five or six families are relocated every day.

Dubois said on the Channel 2 TVN morning news broadcast that they are building more shelters for those people, so they can be relocated with greater efficiency, and therefore in December they could start with the infrastructure work required for the project. On the other hand, the minister said the compensation Miviot gives to these people for their properties depends on the assessment carried out by the Comptroller General's Office and the Directorate of Land Registry. "Everything is based on the law," he said. The project to renovate Curundú will cost the government $94.3 million dollars according to the Minister of Housing, and is expected to be ready in late 2011. (La Prensa)

Exactly one year ago, President Ricardo Martinelli made a promise that returned to Colon the hopes of improving their conditions and appearance. The president promised to make Colon the "Gold Cup" that it was in the middle of the 20th Century. But a year later, his promise has meant little, because the plan has not progressed much. The reasons for the delay include a law prohibiting the destruction of historic buildings. Therefore, the 18 old houses that were supposed to be torn down are still standing. The authorities speak of plans to build houses on the outskirts of the city, but nothing is said about the center of the old city. What's more, in order to see the first work, one will have to wait until March of 2011. (La Estrella)

The technical proposal presented by the "Line 1" consortium won out over the financial offer made by their opponent, the Italian group "Metro de Panama" in the public bidding process for the design and construction of the mega project. Although the Italian group submitted a lower bid of $1.401 billion dollars, they failed to obtain the necessary points to win the bid. Their disadvantage was in the technical proposal, which was worth 65% of the grade. "This score is the result of the very intense work we have been doing since January, when we started the prequalification process," said Antonio Gavioli, representing the "Line 1" consortium, in confirming that theirs was the team with the best score of 917 points out of a possible 1,000. Of these, 578 relate to their technical approach and the rest to their bid of $1,446.9 billion dollars to build the project. Odebrecht, which leads the consortium, has built several other projects in Panama, such as the expansion of the "Coastal Strip" along Ave. Balboa, the renewal of the Curundú district, the highway from Panama to Colón, and and contracts related to the project to clean up the Bay of Panama. It is expected that work on the Panama Metro project will begin in January 2011. (La Estrella)

"I just won a contract worth more than $1.4 billion dollars..." Of course he's happy.

Editor's Comment: Martinelli wants all of the major projects being started under his administration to be completed before the May 2014 elections, and he wants to have the trains running before then. Odebrecht is a good choice for this project since they have proven over time they can deliver in this environment. Amazingly, they started working for the Panamanian government under the administration of Martin Torrijos, and they are still doing work under the administration of Ricardo Martinelli, so they must be doing something right. However, you can expect traffic hell, starting with the groundbreaking and continuing until the work is complete. They are going to rip up the entire Via España and lay the tracks underground in that part of the city. You'd be better off walking. Buy a scooter. Expect a lot of "we all will have to make sacrifices" rhetoric until the work is done.

The "Line One Consortium" composed of the Brazilian company Norberto Odebrecht, the company that built the coastal strip, and the Spanish company FCC, was revealed today as the company with the best score in public bidding to build the new Panama Metro transportation system, although they have not yet won the final contract. Their bid was to build the first line of the Panama Metro system for $1.446 billion dollars, and their presentation received a technical score of 578 points out of a possible 650, representing a total score of 65% in the bidding process. The contract includes the design and construction of Line 1 of the new Panama Metro subway system. This "Line One Consortium" is competing against the Italian Group Metro Panama. Line 1 will cover 13.7 kilometers from the district of Los Andes in the North of the city to the Albrook Bus Terminal in the South, and it will have 13 stations.

In other unrelated news, yesterday the Board of Directors of the Ground Transit and Transportation Authority (ATTT), through resolution Number 14-JD of 31 August 2010, established caps of $25,000 dollars for bus owners (for the standard "Red Devil" buses), $35,000 dollars for the buses that run on the Northern and Southern corridors, $75,000 dollars for the "Nevera" type buses, and $50,000 dollars for the "Coaster" type buses, as part of the compensation for the startup of the new Metro Bus system. (La Estrella)

Editor's Comment: The trains of the Panama Metro system will run on elevated tracks out near Los Andes and along Transistmica. For part of the time the tracks will run at ground level, and then in the middle of the city the tracks will run underground in tunnels - like a true "subway" system. The new Panama Metro system will connect the Albrook Mall to the Los Andes shopping center in San Miguelito, and the route will run right through the heart of Panama City down the length of Vía España. And of course once the first line is completed, then there will be plans to extend and expand the system - and eventually people will be able to catch a train and to get where they want to go quickly and easily. Here's a tip - real estate values for houses and apartments that are within easy walking distance to a Metro station will rise in value.

MEXICO CITY, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Mexico's leading construction company ICA said on Monday it pulled out of a competition to build a subway in Panama but is aiming for big scale contracts in Mexico, maintaining a steady flow of projects in the pipeline. Several building consortia were allowed to bid in March on a $1.5 billion contract to construct a subway in Panama. "Our consortia was not ready to put in a bid ... we are not in the bidding process anymore," ICA's Chief Financial Officer Alonso Quintana told analysts during a conference call on Monday. But the company is entertaining a long list of other projects in Mexico, where infrastructure is likely to pick up next year as state governments speed up large-scale construction ahead of presidential elections, analysts said.

Quintana said ICA's plans over the next 12 to 18 months include roads and highways, an aqueduct, and two ports, although the company has yet to decide if it will bid alone or with other partners for these projects. ICA is holding to its 2010 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization margin forecast of between 16 and 18 percent, Quintana said. "We are burning backlog very quickly and able to maintain it at 33 billion (pesos)," Quintana said, adding the company is expecting to participate in the construction of an elevated highway in the southern part of Mexico City before year end. ICA's backlog, or the work awaiting to be done, was 33.7 billion pesos as of the end of September. Quintana said ICA is maintaining its controlling investment in airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte, or OMA, but did not rule out selling to a partner in the future.

ICA shares rose 1.38 percent to 33.83 pesos in morning trading on Monday while its New York-traded stock gained 1.48 percent to $10.93. (Reporting by Cyntia Barrera Diaz; Editing by Derek Caney)

The Government of Panama, through Tourism Minister Solomon Shamah, returned yesterday to keep away from the crisis of garbage collection, which is getting worse every day in the capital city. Shamah emphasized the newly created Urban Cleanliness Authority will not take over until 1 January 2011. For now, Shamah said the government will give the Municipality of Panama City $4 million dollars to spend on the problem between now and the end of December. The financial support is part of the commitment made by the president and should be used for truck rentals and the purchase of parts to repair existing garbage collection vehicles. "The (national) government is not responsible, so therefore we cannot attend a party to which we are not invited," he said.

More problems - Shamah made it clear that the new entity will not begin to pick up the trash on 1 January 2011, because the administrative structure has not yet been created and they are still studying how to conduct the transition process with the DIMAUD. Also, they don't even have offices from which to operate, and the Ministry of Finance has not provided them with a budget. "We cannot remain in the Hatillo building because the owner does not want to renew the contract for the 4th floor, and we are looking for a place where we can put 120 employees. We need three floors of office space," he added.

Crisis worsens - Due to the situation, some 500 tons of garbage in the streets remains in the streets waiting to be picked up, and it will have to wait, because the funds approved by the Executive Council to provide the service have been paralyzed by the Comptroller. Last week the council approved $2 million dollars for the rental of trucks, which would be managed by the Metropolitan Direction of Urban Cleanliness, and another $30,000 for the support of the community boards. However, there were flaws in the documentation sent by the Municipality, so therefore the process has been stopped. The money for only the districts of Pedregal and Bethania have been approved, and they have already rented two dump trucks for $15,000 per month, each.

Equipment - There are only 24 garbage (compactor) trucks and nine dump trucks responsible to remove 970 tons of garbage every day from the 21 districts of Panama City, an amount that increases significantly during the months of November and December. Last week the DIMAUD rented five compactor trucks that have been focusing their work in critical areas. However, to cope with this problem, DIMAUD says they need about 50 dump trucks, which are only able to collect about 3.5 tons of garbage per trip. (Panama America)

Editor's Comment: Panama City has been buried in garbage for weeks, if not months. It has always been the responsibility of the Municipal Governments (meaning, the Mayor of each town or city) to collect and dispose of garbage. However the simple fact of the matter is that the job has not been getting done, especially in Panama City. Earlier this year President Ricardo Martinelli reacted by creating a new national level authority to take over. The National Assembly passed and approved the proposal, and now this new Authority will stand up for the first time on 1 January 2011. In this article Shamah is working to lessen expectations, because right now everyone expects the problem to simply disappear overnight, as of 1 January 2011.

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - Here's a YouTube video about the new Metro train system that will be built in Panama City between now and 2014. The trains will run on elevated tracks out near San Miguelito, then later in the middle of the city the trains will run underground. Here's the video, with audio in Spanish;

Copyright 2010 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.

The company Transcribe Trading received the order to proceed yesterday for the project to widen the highway from Arraiján to La Chorrera from four to six lanes. This project will cost about $156 million dollars and should be ready in about two years. The project includes the rehabilitation of the entire roadway. (El Siglo)

The new tunnel boring machine "Gloria" began work today on the excavation of a new tunnel that is part of the project to clean up the Bay of Panama. President Ricardo Martinelli gave the signal, accompanied by the Director of the Institute of Aqueducts and Sewage Systems, Manuel Ruiz and the Minister of Health, Franklin Vergara. This structure is the main component of a drainage system for the bay and is 8.1 miles long and 3 meters in diameter. The Director of IDAAN, Manuel Ruiz, was pleased with the project, and said with the TBM the sanitation objectives for the Bay of Panama will be achieved, improving the health conditions in low-income communities. The Minister of Health said this project would help to promote tourism development. The project will cost $516 million dollars and should be completed by 2013. (TVN Noticias)

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - Early this morning at about 1:00 am one of the primary water lines that brings drinking water to Panama City collapsed. As a result the water treatment plant at Chilibre, which provides water to most of the western part of Panama City, had to be taken off line, As of 6:30 am this morning technicians and engineers are waiting for the water that was in the system to drain out so they can get to a valve, and once that valve is shut off then they can restart pumping operations for half of the plant, and repair operations can begin. The Eastern part of Panama City receives water from the Miraflores water treatment plant and water service to areas like Ancon, Bella Vista, and as far as Paitilla will still have water service.

Public and Private Schools Are Closed: The government has decided to close the public and private schools for today at least. A lot of people are just going to stay home today. More information as if becomes available.

Copyright 2010 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.

While on a tour of the province of Bocas del Toro, President Ricardo Martinelli revealed the name of the person who will lead the new National Authority of Cleanliness which should begin to operating in January 2011. The president said the person who will lead this authority must have extensive experience in administration and logistics, so it need not be a politician. Enrique Ho-Fernandez is the person chosen by the President to direct the new National Authority of Cleanliness. (Telemetro)

Editor's Comment: The municipal government of Panama City, lead by Mayor Bosco Vallarino, has proven incapable of collecting the garbage in the city. Therefore, Martinelli simply created a new National Authority that will be responsible for garbage collection throughout the country. This has always been the job of local municipal governments and some do it better than others. Anyway, no matter, that job will now fall under one roof, and the boss will me Enrique Ho-Fernandez. Best of luck. Tough job...

Caracas, Oct 1 (EFE) .- The Andean Development Corporation (CAF) approved $120 million in financing to Panama for the implementation of a reorganization plan for Panama City and the Bay of Panama, reported the financial agency Based in Caracas. The total estimated cost of the project is $538 million dollars, of which 22% percent will come from the CAF loan, 67% percent from other sources of funding, and the remaining 11% percent from local counterpart funding, said the Corporation in a press release. The infrastructure plan, to be executed by the Panamanian Ministry of Health, provides for the construction of 135 miles of sewer lines and their home connections, as well as sanitary collectors for the channeling and treatment of sewage water. The project also includes the design and construction of an 8.2 kilometer long interceptor tunnel that will be three feet in diameter, a pumping station and a wastewater treatment plant, said the multilateral agency.

The president of CAF, Enrique García, highlighted the "high social content" of the project, because it seeks to improve sanitary conditions in Panama City, which will benefit over one million inhabitants of the Latin American capital. Garcia said that in the past five years the Corporation has approved loans to Panama for a total of more than $1 billion dollars, and so far just in 2010 another $540 million more, including the loan announced Friday. The CAF is a multilateral financial institution that supports the sustainable development of its shareholder countries and regional integration.

The CAF currently consists of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Spain, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela as well as 14 private banks in the region Andes.

The Ministry of the Presidency earmarked $3.5 million dollars for the next fiscal year to strengthen security for president Ricardo Martinelli. According to the Ministry's budget request, to which the Panama America had access, they plan to purchase an anti explosives robot together with a special vehicle to transport the robot, as well as tools, parts, and other equipment necessary for its operation. In the document, which details the budget they will defend before the National Assembly in 2011, includes funding to rehabilitate the Quarry Heights tunnel under Cerro Ancon, built by the U.S. military. The information, presented to the Budget Committee of the National Assembly, states that the goal is to "return the tunnel installations to an operating condition, to take advantage of the security provided and protecting the lives of the highest figures of the government."

According to the funding requests included in the draft law, such actions are intended to "safeguard the lives and safety of the President of the Republic, the First Lady, his immediate family and those working in the Presidential Palace." In addition, the funds allocated to the SPI are intended to develop a technological system for the detection of explosives, and include a technical training program for explosives experts and dog handlers. More tunnels - The document also includes improvements to the Presidential Palace, the repairs to the elevator, and the construction of tunnels to connect the Presidential Palace with the former Marina and a bridge to connect to the Casa Alianza.

This last project was started in 2005, and for such purposes was contemplated a sum of $1.2 million dollars, of which 82% was spent as of last August. All of these items are contained in the budget bill for the Presidency of the Republic for 2011, according to the recommendations made by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), amounts to $774.6 million dollars, of which $700 million dollars is in "investment." (See Comments)

The current administration seeks to provide before the Council of Public Security and National Defense a description of how they will create a real, professional, and efficient capacity or capability to meet the challenges posed by the new millennium and the "serious global threats" of concern to the different nations of the world. They have also set a goal of modernizing existing facilities, to ensure the development of their functions. (Panama America)

Editor's Comment: In these kinds of stories, when they talk about "investments" they mean money to build things that will still be there long after the individual political actors have gone. Basically, "investing" money to upgrade or improve infrastructure. The rest of the money - that not being spent on "investments" - will be for daily operating costs and expenses.

(COMTEX) -- Cable & Wireless Panama has announced plans to spend approximately $4.5 million to establish a data center in the Panama Pacific Special Economic Area, or AEEPP, according to local newspaper Panama America. The report said that the data center will focus on storage of information and will operate as a server for business customer operations in Central America and the Caribbean. Jose Quintero, executive director of technology at C&W Panama, was quoted by the source as saying: "The decision to locate this data center in the AEEPP is due to the location of a fiber optic cable crossing Panama's 'Bridge of the Americas' that enables high speed transfer of information in both directions."

The Director of the Ground Transit and Transportation Authority, Jorge Ricardo Fabrega, asked the Panamanian people to be patient, due to the inconveniences that will arise as they work to modernize the country's road system for the next three years. Fabrega said they need the help of the public to avoid traffic jams. He noted for example that many people do not respect the clearances at intersections or traffic lights. No one should fill the marked spaces in the middle of the intersections, he said, referring to areas that have recently been painted with a yellow cross-hatch as free space at the intersections of several major roads.

Fabrega also announced that next week they would present a Bill which would increase traffic fines for consideration by the Transit Board, and then if it is approved, to the president. He confirmed that they would propose to increase the penalties for driving while intoxicated and obstructing traffic. There will be penalties for those pedestrians who do not respect the rules of traffic. The Director of the ATTT justified the application of sanctions for those who use their cell phones to send chat messages while driving, as well as those who use DVD screens in the front part of the vehicles, because these are elements that can distract drivers and cause accidents. Fabrega said that when the existing traffic regulations were written these types of devices didn't exist, and so they were never regulated. He said that the ATTT's campaign has resulted in a reduction of traffic fatalities. (TVN Noticias)

Editor's Comment: The government is about to embark on a major building program in Panama City to create new overpasses at about ten intersections. On top of that, traffic will also be completely screwed up once construction starts on the Metro subway system. You have to put up with a few broken eggs to make a cake, and I'm just glad to see the government pouring a lot of money - millions if not billions of dollars - into infrastructure improvements.

The president, Ricardo Martinelli, yesterday gave the order for the rehabilitation and widening of the road from La Villa to Las Tablas. He also inspected from the intersection in Divisa and the city of Chitre, which includes construction of a bypass in the community of Santa Maria and the enlargement of the road to Chitre. The work will be approximately 44 kilometers long and is projected to take 30 months to complete, starting from the bridge crossing in Divisa until the intersection where the Fire Station is currency located in the community of Santa Maria, where two new lanes will be built on the left side of the existing roadway. Referring to the delivery of the order for the design, construction, rehabilitation, and widening of the road from Las Tablas to La Villa, the president explained that its length is approximately 26 kilometers, which will provide better communication between communities on the route from Divisa to Las Tablas, and in addition this project will ease traffic congestion which occurs at certain times of the year in the Azuero region. It is projected this project will take about two and a half years to complete. (La Estrella)

At a cost of $23 million Dollars, Union Fenosa will replace power lines with underground cables in Panama City, Santiago and David in a four-year period starting in March 2011 and ending in July 2014, reported Sebastian Perez , the Director of Distribution for the electrical company. The bid for companies to perform the work will be held in November 2010. This project will increase the cost to consumers at a rate of 0.001 cents per kilowatt of electricity used by residential customers, or $1.00 for 1,000 kilowatts, explained Perez.

During the installation of the new cables and the replacement of the existing power cables on poles for underground cables, power will be interrupted by sectors for no more than four hours at a time, not days, said the representative of Union Fenosa. In Panama City the cables will be changed along vía Brasil, vía España, Avenida Federico Boyd and Calle 50, at a cost of more than $18 million dollars. In Santiago the work will be from Central Avenue to the Inter American Highway, covering 3.7 km at a cost of more than $1.8 million dollars. In David, the work will be done around the Cervantes park, covering more than 2.2 kilometers, at a cost of $836,443 dollars.

The excavated areas will have chambers that will prevent water from damaging the system during floods, meanwhile the transformers currently hanging from electrical poles will be at ground level next to the sidewalks and others for lack of space will be underground, said Perez. The impact is visual, and dramatically reduces damages caused to power lines by birds, trees, or lightening strikes that affect service, as well as drivers who hit the electrical power poles. The project being carried out by Union Fenosa will also involve cables for telecommunications, said the source. (La Critica)

PANAMA CITY, Panama (PennWell) -- AES's 223-MW Changuinola I hydro plant in Panama is set to begin commercial operations in the first half of next year, wire services reported. The plant will use water from the Changuinola River in Bocas del Toro province. AES Panama is the country's largest hydro generator, with installed capacity of 482 megawatts. In other news, Brazil's 210-MW Serra do Facao hydropower plant is projected to come online within three months, the president of project developer Serra do Facao Energia consortium told wire services. The Serra do Facao hydro project initially was planned to come online in October 2010. The plant is located in the Brazil's center-western state of Goias.

Panama's Energy & Environmental Engineering Corp. will invest a total of US$720 million in the construction of two wind farms that will add renewable energy to the national Panamanian grid. The projects, known as Anton Sur and La Colorada, are located near the city of Anton, in the province of Cocle, southwest of Panama City. Each of the two wind farms will have an installed capacity of 90 megawatts (MW). Permits for the projects are expected to be approved by December 2011. Construction of the facilities is expected to begin in early 2012, and should take about 18 months. The estimated investments for these projects are US$360 million each. Over the next few years, a large number of new wind farms will add a total renewable capacity of 2,359 megawatts. The new wind farms will include:

• *Penonome Toabre Phase I and II (150 and 75 MW),
• *La Chorrera (372 MW),
• *Donoso (600 MW),
• *Anton (105 MW),
• *Cerro Jefe (52 MW),
• *La Soñadora (100 MW),
• *Macano Roma (174 MW),
• *Santa Cruz (58 MW),
• *Marañon (50 MW),
• *Azuero (180 MW),
• *Santa Fe (81 MW),
• *Nuevo Chagres (42.5 MW),
• *Portobelo Ballestillas (59.5 MW),
• *Rosa de los Vientos (194 MW),
• *La Miel (25.5 MW) and
• *Cerro Azul (40.8 MW).

Overall demand for energy in Panama grew 12 percent in 2009, double the growth rate for 2008. The implementation of these projects will add more megawatts to the interconnected system, satisfy the increasing demand for electricity, and reduce Panama’s reliance on petroleum-based products, the project’s sponsors said in a statement.

A study for the exploration of oil, natural gas and other petroleum products, to be held in Panama, was approved by the National Economic Council (CENA), reported yesterday by Deputy Economy Minister Frank de Lima. The company will identify potential areas near the Colombian-Panamanian border region, which could be exploited. "There are good indications of the existence of oil, and the commercial viability will be analyzed," he said. De Lima announced that as part of the study they will conduct drilling and geological analysis. The work will cost $ 476,765. (La Critica)

Another step forward. Yesterday there was a ceremony to mark the start of the construction of a new Prison Complex that will be known as "La Nueva Joya" (The New Jewel.) In 36 months, more than 5,500 prisoners will be moving into the new facilities, according to Public Security Minister, Jose Raul Mulino, which will be a decent and comfortable structure and not "sheds to store people" as we have now. After the Cabinet Council approved the signing of the contract for this project on 9 June 2010, the Colombian company UM Panamá was chosen to build the new facility.

Ramon Alvarez, the representative of the consortium UM Panama, said the cells would have triple locks, and that the pavilions would be under the watchful eye of the guards. He also said the new facility would have the highest safety standards and would incorporate the latest technologies developed for use in prisons. He added that this facility would also play a role in the area of rehabilitation, since within the prison buildings they will build workshops, recreational facilities, and training facilities for the inmates chosen to participate in renewal programs. The representative of the consortium said the project will begin with an intervening stage during which the Panamanian authorities will fully supervise each of the instruments that will be included in the project, and during construction of the structures inspections of the project will be completed.

Some 650 people will work on the construction of this project, and it is expected that the first phase will be ready to receive inmates within about 18 months. This company has been involved in the building of more than four prisons in Colombia. COST - The cost of the project is more than $155 million dollars. The complex will cover more than 30 hectares of land. (Dia a Dia)

Despite their best efforts, heavy rainfall prevented workers from completing the removal of a power line pole that fell over yesterday afternoon, blocking Calle 50. On Monday morning Calle 50 will be closed again, until all debris is collected and part of the power lines that fell in the street. Fortunately no one was injured, but this caused a traffic jam on the busy avenue. (Panama America)

The Ministry of Public Works will open the new access ramp to the Northern Corridor at Villa Lucre next Monday, and at the same time announced the opening of the Northern Corridor towards the area of Tocumen for the benefit of drivers and the community in general. Public Works Minister Federico Suarez said that during the first year of their administration, he has taken more than six months to reevaluate projects to benefit the community. He said they would begin construction on the expansion of the road from two to four lanes from Davisa in Chitré to Las Tablas, as well as the road from David to Boquete in the Chiriqui province. Among other projects to improve, expand, or upgrade existing roads, the highway from Arraijan and La Chorrera to the Autopista will be expanded from the current four lanes to six - three in each direction. Suarez also reported work continues on the extension of the Coastal Strip to San Felipe, which will give a new face to the area of Terraplén. Another important project completed during the last twelve months was the dredging of the Xixaola river channel, resulting in decreasing the risk of flooding in surrounding communities. Another important project in the works is the construction of sixteen overpasses in the Panama City area which will complement the Metrobus project. (TVN Noticias)

Editor's Comment: The only thing missing in this presentation was Minister Federico Suarez saying "...so please don't fire me..." to Ricardo Martinelli. Tomorrow Martinelli will announce a series of changes to his Cabinet and it's apparent that Federico Suarez might think he's at risk. Of course all of the Minsters are trotting forward to the news cameras and microphones today to discuss what they have accomplished during their first year in office, and what they have planned for the future. The MOP has been unusually quiet - considering they normally spend most of the money. Suarez said he spent six months reevaluating existing plans and projects, which could also be described as "figuring out where the bathroom is." All of these guys are rookies, and if anyone is replaced then the first question from the new guy will be "...and, where is the bathroom..." - starting all over again. Let's see if Suarez survives his rookie year.

Work on the interceptor tunnel as part of the mega-project to clean up the Bay of Panama which will be built by the Odebrecht company could start as soon as August 2010, with the arrival in Panama of a new Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) - EPB Shield - made by the German company Herrenknecht. The tunnel should be completed by the end of 2012, with the help of this huge machine. The TBM is 177 meters long and 3.6 meters in diameter. It's worth more than $40 million dollars and has been named "Gloria" in honor of President Ricardo Martinelli's mother. The machine - painted with the colors of the Panamanian flag - will leave for Panama in the first week of July, to be assembled in about a month. The TBM was delivered on Tuesday in Schawanau, Germany, to executives of the Odebrecht company.

This machine will be used to dig a 8.1 kilometer long tunnel from Nuevo Reparto to the Coastal Strip, where it will tie in to the Balboa inter-connector. The tunnel will have an internal diameter of three meters and will be covered with concrete and PVC. In Nuevo Reparto a pumping station will be built to drive the water from the tunnel (at a depth of 25 meters) to the wastewater treatment plant, located near the mouth of the Juan Diaz river.

Editor's Comment: See what you can do when you have money to spend? Today most of the "rivers" that run through Panama City toward the Bay of Panama are, in fact, more like open sewage canals. The infrastructure under the city is crumbling, and every time a sewage pipe collapses the water backs up, overflows somewhere, and then just finds it's way to the "gray water" rain runoff. All of this then gets flushed into the Bay of Panama. The Republic of Panama has been a relatively poor nation for most of its existence. It's taken the country a full ten years, after the departure of the US military bases and the turnover of the Panama Canal to full Panamanian control, to get its act together to the point where major projects such as this can be funded by the healthy and growing economy. Governmental corruption is declining (slowly). If you had told me 24 years ago when Noriega was still in charge that eventually there would be a TBM boring a tunnel under Panama City to collect and process runoff water to clean up the Bay of Panama I would have said you were on drugs... It might take ten years or more, but eventually there will be swimming beaches on Ave Balboa - like there were in the 1930's and 1940's when Panama City ended just past Parque Urraca.

The Government of Panama is making a thorough study of the environmental impact that could be caused by the installation of a new land based electrical connection with Colombia. The Energy Secretary of Panama, Juan Manuel Urriola, said progress has been made in this environmental study "so we can really know the potential impact, and we are not ruling out the environmentalists," he added. "The environmental impact study being done, because the other possibility is that a connection through the sea would cost $60 million dollars more," he said. Urriola said the electrical line would cost about $600 million dollars to install. (El Siglo)

Editor's Comment: The government of Colombia has been pushing for this for a long time. Panamanians are generally afraid of Colombia (and Colombians) and they see the Darien as one huge barrier against the potential for invasion. Really. The installation of this new high tension power transmission line between Panama and Colombia would allow for power to flow either way, as required, depending on the current conditions. For example, when the there is a drought in Panama and the reservoirs are drying up, Panama's capacity to produce hydro electrical power is diminished, so purchasing power from Colombia would be an option if this line were built. Likewise, when Panama is producing a surplus that energy could be sold to Colombia if needed. Strategically speaking, more and better infrastructure is almost always a good thing in the long run.

The Social Security Fund of Panama will invest $250 million dollars in bonds to finance the purchase of the Northern and Southern Corridors, announced today the Director General of the Social Security Fund, Guillermo Sáez Llorens. The official made the announcement after meeting yesterday with President Ricardo Martinelli, who confirmed that the State will purchase the highways. Saez Llorens said this will be the best way to invest the Social Security Fund's money, because it will yield between 3.5% to 4% more in interest than the money is currently earning in a deposit account. Saez Llorens made the remarks while inspecting the hospital in Changuinola, Bocas del Toro province. (TVN Noticias)

Editor's Comment: Panama's Social Security Fund is "liquid" in that it has more money in the bank than it pays out - they are in the black. The government of Ricardo Martinelli wants to "buy" both the Northern and Southern Corridors that were built on contract by two different companies, who continue to operate the toll roads and to collect the income. Martinelli has determined that this is simply a bad business deal for Panama, and over the long haul it would be much better to just buy out the two companies and to send them packing. The Social Security Fund has money in the bank and this idea of using that money to invest in the roads had been bouncing around for months. Today, it's a done deal. Of course the normal crowd of ankle biters will scream and yell and moan and bitch about how they think it's a bad idea, and everyone will just basically ignore them. In the long term the Social Security Fund will have even more money in the bank than it has now thanks to the interest payments received on the bonds, so it's a good deal in that regard. Hopefully Panama has learned its lesson and they won't ever pull a repeat of the mistakes made in building these two roads. Have you ever driven in to Panama City from the area of Tocumen on the Southern Corridor in the morning during rush hour? It's literally paying money to sit in a traffic jam - not good.

For more than 30 years the different administrations that have been in control of the government in Panama have all promised to build a road to link the provinces of Colón and Bocas del Toro along the extensive Atlantic coastline. To date, only the Inter American Highway crosses the length of the Isthmus of Panama from Chiriqui to the province of the Darien. However, the Northern part of the country remains cut off by land, and by sea access is cumbersome. Mario Miller, the Deputy in the National Assembly who represents the 1-1 District, said the realization of this and other mega-projects will promote sustainable and integrated development that will define both the present and future of Bocas del Toro.

230 km - The road would form the hub of communication in the Northern region of the country and would be more than 230 kilometers (143 miles) long, linking the town of Miguel de la Borda, in the District of Donoso, province of Colon, with the town of Rambala in the district of Chiriqui Grande, Bocas del Toro. In 2008, Carlos Ho, the Director of Special Projects of the Ministry of Public Works, estimated the project would cost $350 million dollars and take about three years to build. According to Miller, the project is one of the most ambitious goals on the agenda of president Ricardo Martinelli, and the proposal is being called the "Gran Costanera" (Grand Coastal.)

Meanwhile, the PRD lawmaker from the same province Benicio Robinson believes the project could bring development to the province, but he doubts the government is serious. "That is just another lie being told by this administration," he said. But Miller rejects this criticism and says the government has allocated $150 million dollars to start the implementation of the project.

Ancon asks to participate - Meanwhile, Alida Spadafora, the Director of the National Association for the Conservation of Nature (Ancon), made it clear she is not opposed to the governments decision to build the coastal highway project, but asks that first the project should be analyzed with caution. She said the opening of this route will have a direct impact on the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, which links the region of Chocó, in the Darien, to Southern Mexico. A road of this type could affect different systems of mangroves and forest system that form the biological corridor. Therefore, she said she has asked the Minister of Public Works, Federico Suarez, for advance information on the progress of the project, and what their goals are, in order to make the appropriate comprehensive analysis of the economic, social and environmental implications of this road while taking climate change into account.

The Opinion of the SPIA from Bocas - Jorge Pinto, the President of the Society of Engineers and Architects, Bocas del Toro Chapter, thinks this road project is unnecessary, and that beyond economic benefits, there will be a direct and considerable impact on the flora and fauna of the area once construction begins, which will only get worse once the road is opened. Which is why he thinks the road from Chiriqui to Bocas del Toro should be fully rehabilitated and not only at critical points. What's more, he said, the potential implications of this expensive project have not been adequately considered.

Those absent - But those were not even consulted and only know of the plans to build this project through commentary on the radio are the Ngäbes Buglés. Rogelio Moreno, Chief General in rebellion, said the construction of this road would affect communities such as Kusapín, Kankintú, Río Chiriquí, Ensenada, Santa Catalina, and others that are home to thousands of his brethren. "We have not heard anything about it and we want them to consult with us if the government intends to undertake this project which will affect the region." (la Prensa)

Editor's Comment: This road would open up the entire Atlantic Northern coast to development, generating billions of dollars in new Foreign Direct Investment. This area is beautiful, and in reality the road should have been build generations ago. Hop in your car and drive to Miguel de la Borda sometime to see for yourself. And, imagine being able to drive to Bocas del Toro is about three hours or less from Panama City. Can anyone say "lobster for lunch" ?

The Inter-American Development Bank, the Andean Development Corporation, the European Investment Bank and Citibank have confirmed their interest in providing funding for the Metro mass transit project in Panama. If you add up the amounts these four entities are willing to loan, the Government would have access to the $1.5 billion dollars the project is estimated to cost. Although the Ministry of Finance also has not ruled out using State funds, most of the project will be financed with new debt. At the end of May 2010 Panama's total debt is just over $11.17 billion dollars. (La Prensa)

The Cabinet Council authorized the Ministry of Government and Justice to sign the contract for the Design, Construction, and Equipping of the New Prison Complex - the "Nueva Joya" - which will be delivered as a "turn key" project by the consortium UM Panama, the only bidder that fully met the requirements established in the Statement of Charges during the Prequalification Public Ceremony, held on 17 March 2010. The signing of this contract, for the sum of $148.1 million dollars (plus 5% tax) for a total of more than $155.5 million dollars, is for the design, construction, and equipping of a "prison city" of first world quality that would have a capacity to house approximately 5,500 prisoners. The construction of the new prison will take an estimated 36 months, and is expected to generate a significant number of both direct and indirect jobs. (TVN Noticias)

Editor's Comment: Now, was that so hard? The Panamanian government is finally going to spend a significant chunk of change - more than $155 million dollars to be exact - to build a new prison facility. Prisoners have been warehoused at the "La Joya" and "Joyita" facilities for more than 20 years, and the conditions there are terrible. So, there goes another large government spending project, and as usual most of that money will stay right in the Panamanian economy, being spent on employees and labor, equipment rental, fuel, materials, services, etc. These are the kinds of projects that will continue to fuel the Panamanian economy for years to come. And more importantly, it's about time - and upgrade to the prisons was way over due.

Employees from the company Norberto Odebrecht are now working in Curundú. The company has installed trailers that will serve as mobile office space for their people, who are conducting social, technical, and environmental studies of the area, as part of the project to renovate the troubled area in the heart of the city, which will cost a total of $94.3 million dollars. The presence of these simple trailers are the first tangible symbols of change for the impoverished neighborhood. (La Prensa)