This week the Ministry of Public Works (MOP) released the specifications to select the contractor for the design and construction of the fourth bridge over the Panama Canal.
The public event will be attended by the six prequalified consortia formed by the companies from China, Korea, Italy, Spain and Brazil.
The receipt of the proposals is scheduled for mid January 2017.
Estela De La Guardia, director of Special Projects of the MOP, said that the prequalification stage candidates were evaluated from the point of administrative, legal and financial terms. The specification includes a number of minimum requirements that contractors must meet. In the evaluation of proposals, the technical part will have a weighting of 58% and the rest 42% is the economic proposal. The project cost is estimated at one billion dollars, but the final amount will only be known upon completion of the tender.
The contract could be awarded by MOP between April and May of the next year, and the construction works would begin soon after.
The contractor will be awarded the period of three and a half years in order to complete the project. That means that works will be completed somewhere between 2020 and 2021.
Total length of the new infrastructure project will be 6.5 kilometers. The entrance will be located next the Albrook terminal and then go parallel to Roosevelt Avenue, then cross the canal in order to connect with Panamerican highway
The bridge will be 1,010 meters long with two supporting towers shaped like inverted “Y”, each of the them 185 meters high will give full support for the structure.
The clearance between the bridge and Panama Canal, whose operation can not be affected meanwhile it is constructed, will be 75 meters. The design also includes space for a future fourth set of locks.
“This is the project that Panama has never dared to complete before, it includes very complex construction and engineering works, including 2 monorail lines. All of that should be done without any interruptions for Panama Canal”, said De La Guardia.
The bridge will greatly impact the quality of life for those who currently commute between Western Panama City and the downtown. With the completion of the works, many Panamanian will gain access to public transport.
