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A November 19, 2008 press release states that Dredging International has received a contract to dredge 1.5 million cubic meters of weathered rock for an access channel to the Panama International Container Terminal at Rodman, Panama. PSA of Singapore is developing a container facility for post Panamax vessels on the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal. The first stage will be the building of one jetty with a final project capacity of 450,000 TEU a year. One TEU is a twenty foot long shipping container equivalent.

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has just received approval on a set of loans to build the new “third lane” of the Panama Canal. The Panama Canal Expansion will double Panama Canal shipping capacity and allow larger boats to traverse from ocean to ocean. It is of note that the Panama Canal Authority only needs 2.3B USD in loans as it expects to pay the remaining roughly 3.3B USD cost with funds generated by operations.

The Panama International Container Terminal is mean to work in conjunction with the widened Panama Canal. As Panama moves ahead with the Panama Canal Expansion, port facilities and container shipping facilities are upgrading to accommodate most of the 37% of the world’s ships that currently are too big to pass through the Panama Canal. The biggest ship that can pass through the Panama Canal is a “panamax.” Thus, larger ships are known as “post panamax” or “cape size.”

Singapore’s PSA will run the Panama International Container Terminal in conjunction with its Panama partner, Parque Industrial Maritime S.A. (PIMPSA). Besides building a container shipping facility in Panama Singapore signed a free trade agreement with Panama in 2006. This agreement is up for review this year.

Panama is likely to weather the current world wide credit crisis pretty well due to its conservative banks which did not engage in sub prime mortgages. In the midst of a global financial crisis [in October, 2008] Panama appointed a new banking supervisor. Olegario Barrelier, a banker with years of experience noted that Panama does not rely on “external funding” for its capital markets, that Panama’s banking system is stable, and that Panama’s banks did not suffer the huge losses experienced elsewhere in the global financial network.

Panama remains a center of trade and transportation. Investment in Panama business and commercial real estate is still prospering as many economies sink into recession. Little noticed by the “Norte Americanos” moving to Panama is that the middle lower parts of the Panama real estate market are booming along with commercial real estate. Investment here is leading to are more jobs, more immigrant Latin Americans looking for work and a continuing need for housing. It should be noted that when a Costa Rican, Chilean, or Ecuadoran computer programmer moves to Panama looking for work it tells you where the economic progress is in Latin America.

For insights on where to invest in commercial or residential real estate in Panama come to see us at ABPanama. We can update you on the container shipping facilities in the Pacific Panama Economic Area just starting up or show you excellent commercial real estate opportunities in busy downtown Panama City. Panama commercial real estate is likely to appreciate for years to come.