[LINK] "Panama and Nicaragua – Two Canals, One Shared Dream"

[rfmcdonald]

Iralís Fragiel of the Inter Press Service writes about how, between Panama's modernization of its interoceanic canal and Nicaragua's plans to build one, the dream of the canal as a trigger for growth seems widespread throughout Central America.

Nicholas Suchecki Guillén is blind. His dream was to visit the Panama Canal expansion works, touch the cement structures, and feel part of this new period of history in his country.

The 11-year-old stood on the third set of locks in Cocolí, near the Pacific Ocean. He had the privilege of forming part of the last group allowed to visit the complex before the flooding started – a long process that on this side began on Jun. 22.

Like Nicholas, many Panamanians visited the new locks free of charge on tours promoted by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), the agency that has run the canal since it was handed back to this country by the United States in 1999.

“I feel proud to see what we have done,” engineer Luis Ferreira, spokesman for the ACP, told IPS. “When the first locks were built, 222 Panamanians participated. On this occasion, 36,276 Panamanians took part.”

The expansion also represents a promise of economic growth. “The canal’s contributions to the state coffers amounted to more than nine billion dollars between 2000 and 2014. With the new locks, they could climb to three billion dollars a year,” Ferreira said.