Panama Canal fetes centenary as it prepares for big capacity expansion

THE Panama Canal is celebrating a century of operations connecting the world, with officials asserting their commitment to completing its expansion, the largest infrastructure project of the waterway since it opened in August, 1914.

Ever since the passage of the first ship, the 9,606-ton SS Ancon, used to bring supplies to the canal builders, the 80-kilometre waterway has registered 1,055,000 transits reducing distances, time and shipping costs. 


"Going forward, the Panama Canal will continue to connect the world, supported by all the modernisation efforts since its construction," said Panama Canal administrator Jorge Quijano. 

"The expansion will change trade patterns just as the canal opening did a century ago."