They are building a brand new Panama Canal to accomodate wider ships and more traffic. The old canal was first opened in 1914 and it was decided to build a new one rather than try to retrofit the old one.
Lock three was having some leakage problems and a concrete sample was taken.
From gCaptain:
A Concrete Sample Was Pulled from the New Panama Canal Locks and It Does Not Look Good
A core sample pulled from the concrete of the Cocoli Locks where cracks and leaks have appeared does not bode well for the Panama Canal expansion project, which is on a strict deadline for completion in April 2016.
The crack and subsequent leaks appeared recently in the concrete of one of the interior chambers of the new Cocoli Locks on the Pacific side of the waterway during testing of the new locks.
And the contractor?
Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC), the main contractor for the Third Set of Locks project, issued a statement last Friday acknowledging the leaks, but has since gone quiet.
The ACP has said previously that the based on preliminary information the crack is not expected to impact the opening of the new locks for commercial operations in April 2016 and that GUPC is solely responsible for the successful delivery and performance of the new locks ‘without defects’.
“GUPC has the obligation to ensure the long-term performance on all aspects of the construction of the locks and to correct this issue,” the ACP said in a statement earlier this week. “Moreover, GUPC’s contract with the ACP dictates that the group is responsible for modifications and corrections,” it added.
Here is a photo of the leakage - I would not want to be working for GUPC...
