Argos to supply cement for Panama canal expansion
Cemento Panamá, a subsidiary of Colombia-based producer Cementos Argos, signed a contract with the consortium Grupo Unidos por el Canal for supplying cement and cementitious products to be used in the expansion of the Panama Canal.
The contract value amounts to US$65m and deliveries will begin in December 2010 ending in the first quarter 2014.
The launch of Cementos Argos’ new production line in Cartagena, Colombia will play a relevant role on this project. Its recently expanded capacity to 3Mta and its strategic location – less than one day away from Panama by ship – will allow it to serve as a backup supplier, if required, during the Canal expansion.
The Canal expansion project involves the construction of two locks, three levels each, with three water reutilization basins per level, one on the Pacific side and one on the Atlantic side.
Currently, 4% of world trade passes through the Panama Canal, and as a result of this enlargement, from 2015, this figure is estimated to be around 6%. In theory, the tons passing from the Atlantic to the Pacific shall double, reaching 600Mta, compared to the 340Mta of now days. Published under Cement News
