Panama Canal reports progress on channel deepening

Panama Canal reports progress on channel deepening       The Panama Canal Authority said its $190-million project to deepen the navigational channel in Gatun Lake is “40 percent complete — ahead of schedule and within budget.”
   At present, the channel provides an unrestricted draft of 39.5 feet, plus five feet of keel clearance when Gatun Lake’s elevation is 81.5 feet. The deepening project would allow the same conditions, but at a lower lake elevation of 78.5 feet.
   “The project will help to accommodate the anticipated increase in canal demand because the active water storage volume will rise by nearly 45 percent — from 770 million cubic meters to 1,420 million cubic meters, providing enough water for an additional six vessels transits (of the Canal) per day,” the authority said.
   Work on deepening the Gatun Lake channel is expected to be completed by 2009.