Welcome to the Panama Weekly News Roundup! Here’s the latest.
Panama will be Lufthansa’s entrance to Central America
Panama continues to expand its presence as an international hub for airlines, and the most recent company to join the party is Lufthansa. The German carrier recently announced that they would be expanding their presence in Latin America, and they are starting with Panama.
According to information published by the official website of the ATP, Jesus Sierra, administrator of the institution, said that “with Lufthansa are strengthening air connectivity, increasing tourist arrivals from Germany and Europe to Panama. This represents a major achievement for the country, and will increase the number of foreign tourists, who contribute to the national economy “For his part, the Director of Lufthansa for Mexico and Central America, Dirk van Nieuwkerk, stressed that with the arrival of Airbus A340-300 next November 16, 2015, the German airline “arrives with his first flight to Central America.”
Source: GoGetIt Panama
Panama’s government takes big steps to help protect valuable wetlands.
Panama’s wetlands are in danger. There is so much construction going on that this almost always gets ignored. However, the new Varela administration has brought it back into the fold, and this month, signed into law a universal protection act for the environment in the capital. Here’s what the law consists of, and why it’s timely to do it now.
In recent years, the area around Panama City has seen fast growth with the construction of major residential, tourism and industrial complexes. Environmentalists accused President Ricardo Martinelli of tacitly encouraging unrestrained growth during his time in office from 2009 to 2014 by lowering the fines for cutting down mangrove trees.
They say the move sped up the destruction of Panama’s mangrove forests, 55% of which were lost between 1969 and 2007, according to United Nations figures.
About a million shorebirds migrate to the Bay of Panama every year. The area is also home to anteaters, Central American tapirs and loggerhead turtles.
Source: BBC News
Indigenous Parliament Meets to ‘Make History’ in Panama.
The Indigenous Parliament of America (PIA) held its 15th session in Panama this month, marking an important milestone for the body that works to amplify the voices of Indigenous peoples in the region. While there were many issues at hand, this year was important because it brought an unprecedented number of representatives together to discuss the impact of modern Panama on its indigenous people.
“The PIA symbolizes the platform from which the voice of Indigenous peoples from this continent can be heard more clearly and more loudly,” said Adolfo Valderrama, president of the National Assembly of Panama and the host of this year’s Indigenous Parliament meetings. “It is at the same time an instrument of cohesion of these peoples in their struggle for legitimate demands.”
“We are making history bringing together representatives of different Indigenous peoples from throughout the world in order to connect, share and inspire,” said Valderrama at the opening of the meetings.
Source: Telesur TV
3 Int’l consortiums in running for Panama Metro’s Line 2
Panama’s 2nd Metro line is about to take form, and the global competition to build it is heating up. There are now 3 major groups vying for position, and betting big on the city’s next rail line, which will be part of a 4-part project to connect the whole city by subway.
Two of the participants are Consorcio Linea 2, made up of Brazil’s Constructora Norberto Odebrecht and Spain’s FCC Construcciones; and UTE Panama II, consisting of Spain’s Dragados S.A., Mexico’s Ingenieros Civiles Asociados and Peru’s Graña y Montero.
The other is Consorcio PANAMetro – Consorcio Internacional Metro de Panama L2, which comprises the Chinese companies China Harbour Engineering Company and China Railway First Group and Spain’s Corsan-Corviam Construction.
Source: Fox News Latino
