America

Panama’s dream cruise port at Amador to be functional by 2019

Panama has been building a cruise port to explore the potential of cruise tourism with the help of China. Amador Cruise Port, located at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal is expected to boost the tourism industry of Panama.

Around 260 cruise ships cross the Panama Canal in a year. Once fully functional the terminal can accommodate the larger vessels in the port and the authorities expect more ships would dock and alight for site seeing or shopping.

Jan de Nul of Belgium specializes in the building and maintenance of ports, while a consortium with CHEC of China is charged with developing the port.

Dredging the navigation canal and terminal area have already completed and preparation of around seven acres of surrounding land for development is in progress.

“We are very pleased to see the progress, to see the capacity shown by the companies Jan de Nul and CHEC in being able to move this port project forward,” said Juan Carlos Varela, Panama’s President, while he was visiting the site.

“I am eager to see the cruise port to be operational by mid-2019,” he added.

Panama plans to have a strategy so that Panama can serve as a departure port for cruises to the Caribbean or to the Pacific, via the Panama Canal and to showcase Amador port as an upcoming international cruise ship port.

Wei Qiang, China’s ambassador in Panama, who was with the Panama President during the site inspection told, he was happy with the pace in which the works are in progress and he hoped that more Chinese companies could operate in Panama to contribute to the economic and social development of the country.

“With regard to opening of the port,  Panama is in talks with the Miami-based Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association, which gathers all leading cruise companies with Caribbean itineraries, and with global cruise line MSC, which has expressed interest in the new port,” said  Jorge Barakat, the head of Panama’s Maritime Authority (AMP).

Amador’s terminal will initially accommodate two mega cruise ships, each capable of carrying 5,000 passengers, while the port can accommodate around 10,000 passengers at a time.  The authorities plan to accommodate up to five mega cruise ships in due course.