Panama Canal expansion to cost $7.5 billion

Panama Canal expansion to cost $7.5 billion    The Panama Canal Authority is ready to unveil a $7.5 billion plan to widen the Panama Canal, according to a report from the BBC.
   The authority is proposing to build a third set of locks capable of accommodating 10,000-TEU ships up to 19 containers wide with 50 feet of draft.
   The International Monetary Fund estimates the cost of the project at $7.5 billion, which is likely to take seven years to complete, the BBC said.
   To help finance the project, the authority last year changed its toll pricing and measurement system, which will see fees rising to $54 per TEU as of January next year, from about $30 per TEU at the end of 2004.
   “As soon as China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001 the final flag went up for us to do something,” Jorge Quijano, the Panama Canal Authority’s director of maritime operations told the BBC.