The works in the Panama Canal could have a delay o three to five
Despite the culmination of the period given by the Consortium Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC) to paralyze the work, the works of the expansion of the Panama Canal continued but in a slow way. The consortium led by Sacyr still hopes to find solutions in the coming weeks to finish the works and has offered to co-finance the cost of the overruns, of some 1,200 million.
After analyze all the facts the Dispute Adjudication Board(DAB), warns that, in the event of breach of the contract, works would not end in 2015, as intended, but more probably between 2018 and 2020, according to the Court sources.
The consortium after a meeting of its Board of Directors offered to co-finance the unforeseen costs to comply with the current contract within the planned timetable. “GUPC (…) is not asking for extra benefits, only the co-financing while waiting for the decision of the international arbitration”, although without giving details of what amount is going to correspond to each part.
The Consortium explained that the funds that provide the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) would be protected until the arbitration decide who should be charged with the overrun costs, because they have the bank guarantees and insurance. GUPC stresses that the overruns are documented and verified by the ACP.
