Panama metro lines could cost US$5bn - minister

Lines No.2 and No.3 of Panama's metro system will require up to US$5bn in investments, local paper La Prensa reported, citing economy minister Dulcidio de la Guardia

Line No.2 will cost around US$2bn, the minister said. In September a tender was launched for its design and construction. Interested firms are due to submit bids on January 30, according to tender documents.

The project is expected to break ground by end-March.

Line No.2 will be a 21km elevated line with 16 stations and connections to line No.1. It will have capacity for 500,000 commuters.

The line No.3 project, which also involves the construction of a bridge over the Panama Canal, will reportedly cost between US$2.5bn and US$3bn. Panama has been in talks with Japan over the financing and construction of the 26.5km line, which will have 14 stations.

In April, Panama opened line No.1, the first metro line in Central America. The project required investments of US$2.01bn and took 41 months to complete.