By Marianna Parraga
HOUSTON, Nov 4 (Reuters) – The Panama Canal expects to announce the pre-qualified bidders for a project to build and operate two new container terminals by the end of this year, Administrator Ilya Espino said on Wednesday, advancing a tender process linked to one of the world’s most strategic trade corridors.
Speaking at an event in Houston, Espino said the canal authority has already received and evaluated initial proposals. The shortlisted companies will next receive a request for proposals, moving the project into a more formal bidding stage.
Espino added that global shipping heavyweights such as Maersk and MSC, which already operate ports in Panama, could be potential bidders.
PORT EXPANSION PUSH
The new terminals are part of a broader $8.5 billion expansion plan aimed at turning the Panama Canal into a larger logistics and energy hub beyond its traditional role as a passageway for ships.
Espino, who began her role in September, has been leading a strategy to build out a trans-isthmus logistics corridor to complement the canal, which remains one of the world’s most important arteries for maritime trade.
That broader plan includes a proposed $4 billion to $8 billion pipeline to transport liquefied petroleum gas, as well as two new container terminals expected to attract another $2.6 billion in investment.
Existing trans-shipment capacity in Panama is already tight, underpinning the push for expansion. Espino said the canal is also beginning to plan a third terminal project.
The canal authority launched pre-qualification for the terminal and pipeline projects in January. Under the current timetable, concessions could be awarded around mid-2027, with operations starting in 2030 or 2031.
Companies that showed early interest in the wider expansion program include ENEOS, Energy Transfer, Exxon Mobil, Enterprise Products Partners, Chevron, Phillips 66, Targa Resources, ONEOK and several major port operators, the canal has said.
TRANSIT DEMAND
Espino also said the highest amount paid this year by a ship to secure a Panama Canal transit reached $5.2 million, adding that the waterway continues to implement options to avoid long waiting times leading to high passage costs.
The canal has recently introduced changes to its booking and auction systems as it tries to balance demand across vessel segments while protecting water resources.
“We’re hoping the worst we go in the dry season is 32 (vessels authorized per day), as far as slots. People value more spaces than draft, when you have to balance between one and the other, because then more clients have opportunity to make a reservation,” she added.
The current passage limit is 33 ships per day. Maximum authorized vessel draft could be adjusted in coming months depending on rainfall, Espino said.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessel traffic remains well below earlier levels amid ship re-routing due to disruptions in the Middle East. Espino said passage is recovering slowly with the canal now seeing about three LNG vessels per week, down from roughly two per day before the Iran war, but above a near full stop earlier this year.
The waterway is expecting 10,750 deep-draft transits this fiscal year, which will end in September 2027, below the 12,636 transits of the previous fiscal year, Espino said.
(Reporting by Marianna Parraga; Editing by Kylie Madry, Daina Beth Solomon and Jonathan Spicer )
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