It’s amazing to see how quickly Panama and China have moved from establishing ties (and denouncing them to Taiwan) to discussing of massive infrastructure and transportation deals, which seem to show a great impact on the Panamanian property market.
China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Co. Ltd, better known as CSR Corporation, will assume the construction of the new Panama-Chiriquí train route. The Panamanian side was highly surprised to see the magnitude and scope of the work when visiting the facilities of the Chinese train factory.
The line will contain two sets of tracks, one for cargo and another for passengers. The cargo route will reach the border of Costa Rica and passenger route will reach the city of David in Chiriquí. The passenger train will be offered in 3 classes: First, Second and Standard.
However, what impresses the most is the impact that cargo transport can have on the entire region: containers coming from and to Central America will be loaded in Paso Canoas and David Chiriquí, then will continue to and from the Pacific and Atlantic ports on both sides of the Panama Canal.
It will also positively impact agricultural and commercial transportation of the central and western provinces of Panama. Dairy, vegetables, grains and fuel: all of that can be transported inside Panama by train.
It is estimated that the volume of cargo coming from Costa Rica, Central and South America to and from China will be of such amounts, that the Colon Free Zone, Panama Pacifico and the ports would be forced to expand. Land carriers and many agricultural intermediaries will be at risk of disappearing or reinventing themselves.
Another aspect of these decisions would be the necessary building the port of Corozal because of the volume of cargo that is about to arrive. Tocumen airport won’t be left behind despite the new terminal, China Airlines and announced that commercial flights and cargo began in March 2018, with direct flights from the cities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Shanghai, and Copa would already be waiting for 6 new Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft to accept direct flights from Wuxi, Hangzhou and Beijing. These destinations are 15,200 kilometres away from one another. It is striking that the 6 cities that will have a direct flight from China with Panama and vice versa are among the 10 main cities of China, commercially speaking. This would also make the movement in Tocumen with passengers from all over the continent with flights to China reach an unexpected maximum for Panama. Copa and China Airlines are in talks to operate joint connectivity between both airlines.
Chinese businesspersons also expressed their interest in operating from Panama cruise ships for high-scale Chinese tourists.
The government of China estimates that the volume or cargo, business, tourism etc. will generate 18 billion only during the first year once the entire railroad, mega-ports, expanded airport are completed and operating.
The Chinese government showed its official visitors the new trains that Panama will have, also the Chinese government granted an interest-free financing for generator Chan 2 that will pass into the hands of the Panamanian government for power generation. At the same time, Panama agreed to use Yuan as a currency for transactions in the upcoming plans of China.
