Welcome to the Panama Weekly News Roundup! Here’s the latest.
Brazil’s Odebrecht slated to fix Panama City’s decayed sidewalks
Panama City has had issues with the state of its sidewalks for quite some time now, and the city is moving aggressively to fix it. This month, the city government awarded a major, $100 million contract to Odebrecht, one of the biggest developers in the region.
Initially, the evaluation committee gave the best rating to Consortium Centralvías EP (95.9 points), followed by Odebrecht (93.86 points), and the consortium Spacio Público Vía España (85.55 points). However, Mayor José Isabel Blandón ordered a new partial analysis of the proposals on March 15, same day he received the report of the commission, claiming that aspects of the proposal of by Centralvías should be clarified.
After the review, the committee issued a new verdict of March 22 in which Odebrecht was awarded the best score: 98.76 points, while the score of Centralvías was lowered to 87.38.
Source: La Prensa in English
Panama faces classic conundrum: Develop or preserve?
With all of the development going on in Panama, the country has run into a bit of a logjam when it comes to development vs. preservation. In Panama’s case, it has a lot to do with the strained relationship between the government and the country’s indigenous peoples.
The Panamanian government is under pressure to modernize and keep up with the Western world. The summit in Bocas del Toro was a culmination of years of work to bring all the representatives, el cazique, from each native group in the country together. The closed-door meeting was packed with caziques dressed in colorful tribal variations expressing their troubles to President Varela and Vice President Isabel Saint Malo dressed in white at the head of the room.
Source: WRAL.com
Panama Canal Draft Restrictions Hamper Waterway’s Big Ship Vision
Panama is going through a major drought this year, and it is now threatening the opening of the Panama Canal Expansion. As of now, measures are already being taken to keep ships safe as they move through a significantly dryer Canal area.
Last week the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) made two important announcements – it set 26 June as the date when the country’s president Juan Carlos Verela will officially open the new locks; but also said it will introduce a vessel draft restriction of 39ft (11.89 metres) on 18 April as a result of El Niño-related changes in weather patterns.
“These temporary and preventive measures will be taken due to an anticipated climatic variability event related to El Niño, a climate phenomenon resulting in periodic warming of the tropical Pacific Ocean.”
Source: GC Captain
Driving in Panama: What you need to know, if you relocate or retire here
If you’re planning on relocating or retiring in Panama, chances are, you’ve considered whether or not to drive a car there. Driving in Panama, like anywhere, has its ups and downs, and buying or using a car in Panama depends on many factors. Check out more from our latest blog post.
Your foreign driver’s license is only valid for 3 months at a time
If you are in Panama on a tourist visa, or even one of the many residents’ visas available to you, your home country’s license is only valid for the first three months you’re in the country. If you leave the country, this resets itself upon your return to Panama. Also, remember that if you’re using a foreign driver’s license, you will still need to show either your cedula (Panama ID), or passport if stopped by the police. Without these documents, you are not driving legally, and may risk losing your vehicle, and paying a steep fine.
Continue reading about Driving in Panama
