Construction of fourth bridge over Panama Canal due to resume in April

The long-delayed fourth bridge over the Panama Canal took a step forward with a new addendum signed Wednesday by public works minister Rafael Sabonge and a representative from the construction consortium. 

The document makes official the modifications proposed by the ministry (MOP) in January to reduce the capex of the project, such as scrapping the restaurant on the western tower, and modifying the alignment of the structure. Another one of the changes involves eliminating the maintenance stage.

The project was also separated from construction of metro line No. 3, due to the different rates of progress and the fourth bridge's difficulty in finding funding. According to MOP, capex now stands at US$1.37bn.

“The financial scheme of the fourth bridge project was approved, so we expect the contractor to resume works by end-April because we know what this project means for all residents of Panama Oeste [province],” Sabonge said in a video posted on social media.

Banks Santander, Mizuho and Banistmo will provide US$717mn of the total and will reportedly issue bonds to obtain the funds the consortium needs to continue construction.

“This is one of the most important projects of the country in the last 20 years, groundbreaking for the development of western Panama,” said the general manager of the Panamá Cuarto Puente construction consortium, Wang Jun, in a release. 

The project includes designing and building a six-lane bridge that will allow motorists to cross the canal between Panama Oeste and Panama City, easing traffic congestion. 

The contract was initially valued at US$1.5bn, and was awarded to Cuarto Puente, comprising China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) and China Harbour Engineering. 

In December 2018, the consortium received the go-ahead from MOP to begin construction, which was originally expected to take 54 months. However, problems with the funding and changes to the design slowed progress and work came to a halt in 2020.