metro

MOP wants lines buried

The Ministerio de Obras Públicas (MOP) is continuing to work on an agreement with the electric company Unión Fenosa to bury the power lines that run along Avenida Balboa.

Carlos Ho, director of special projects for the MOP, said that negotiations are being held between the power company, the ministry, the Autoridad de los Servicios Públicos and Odebrecht, the construction company working on the Coastal Belt project that will expand Avenida Balboa.

The groups are currently focused on determining a cost of the project, as well as working out a timetable and the logistics for it.

Ho expressed confidence that an agreement would be reached soon.

“I think the Coastal Belt project will be delivered with buried cables,” he said.

The project involves the burial of two kilometers of high voltage lines that run from the Contraloría building to the Mercado del Marisco.

The work is expected to cost about $5.2 million, according to an estimate that the power company provided to the MOP.

Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá Manager Rubén Blades said he was in favor of the project because it would help a great deal in improving the appearance of the downtown area. The government has been looking at ways to hide some of the power and phone lines that are prevalent Panama City.