BRIEFS. maritime

Canal expansion recognized internationally

The program to expand the Panama Canal has received international recognition from media organizations and engineering societies.

On March 5, the expansion was named the top international project at the SAMOTER Fair, which is a gathering of leaders in the earth-moving and construction industry.

The award, which has been presented since 1973, is given to a project that will change the economic and social fabric of the world.

In addition, last December the expansion was noted as a leading project during the First World Forum on Leadership and Infrastructure in New York. This meeting attracted more than 500 professionals from the fields of construction and finance.

In May 2007, TEN magazine, published by Business Review Americas, named the construction of the new set of lock as the most important infrastructure project to take place in Latin America in the next decade.

The magazine highlighted the large-scale deployment of technology that will be required to construct the locks, as well as the impact on regional and international transportation.