Roundup: China investing in the Caribbean, highway construction, canal efficiency

Trinidad and Tobago has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese government to fund construction the US$150mn Couva Children's Hospital in central Trinidad and Tobago, according to a release from that country's government. The 230-bed hospital is due to be completed by March 2015 and is being funded by a "government-to-government arrangement with China," the release said. The funding is part of a wider memorandum of understanding between the two governments under which China is expected to invest in energy, infrastructure, agriculture and food security, among others, in the Caribbean country. *** Panama's public works minister, Jaime Ford, has ordered the start of construction work on the Paso Canoas-Puerto Armuelles highway in Chiricana region, according to a release from the ministry. Works include paving, expansion to four lanes and the construction of seven bridges along the 35.4km highway. The project is expected to cost US$114mn and will be carried out by a consortium comprising of Transcaribe Trading and Constructora Meco. *** The Panama Canal Authority ( ACP) has begun trials for the "just in time" service that will improve the efficiency of vessel transit along the waterway, according to a release from the ACP The new service will be able to monitor the location of vessels using satellite technology in order to correctly estimate their arrival time and reduce the time anchored before transiting the canal.