Panama's Quebrada Ancha-María Chiquita highway moves forward

Nine months after winning the tender to build the Quebrada Ancha-María Chiquita highway in Panama, consortium Transeq Estrella was greenlighted by local authorities to start construction. 

The 28.4km toll road from the Quebrada Ancha sector near Boyd Roosevelt avenue to the highway that leads to Portobelo is due to cost US$91.6mn. Works are scheduled to take 730 days so they should be finished by the end of 2024.

The project includes seven bridges: Río Gatún, Río Gatún 1, Río Gatún 2, Quebrada Agua Clara 1, Quebrada Agua Clara 2, Quebrada Agua Clara 3 and Río Mango Indio. 

The route will connect the Panama City-Colón highway with the Costa Arriba sector.

The tender process was completed during the last week of February and among the participants were Consorcio C&T, made of Constructora Urbana and Toronto Global Holdings, which made a US$77.6mn proposal. A US$77mn offer was presented by Consorcio Carretero Atlántico, comprising Costa Rica’s Constructora Meco and Constructora Meco Panamá. The María Chiquita consortium, formed by Constructora RODSA and Ingeniería y Remodelaciones Civiles, submitted a US$77.9mn proposal, while Transeq Estrella, comprising Panama’s Transeq and the Dominican Republic’s Ingeniería Estrella, presented a US$84mn proposal.

The project has faced opposition from environmentalists who claim construction works would cause damage to the region’s biodiversity due to the proximity of the Chagres national park. Environmental group CIAM also said “most of the proposed route does not go through populated areas which will mean the communities near current roads would be economically affected by being left out of the major transit route.” Despite those claims, the government went ahead with the project.

President Laurentino Cortizo Cohen said during the go-ahead ceremony on Monday that with the approval to start construction “we are adding a new road structure to improve ground connectivity in Colón province… apart from generating direct and indirect jobs, it will benefit producers from these areas as it will boost the transportation of their goods.”