【By Guan察者网, Ruan Jiaqi】

As the dispute over the Panama Canal ports between China and the United States continues to escalate, in August this year, several foreign media outlets reported that the Panamanian government planned to sell the operating rights of two unfinished ports, aiming to introduce more operators and enhance container handling capacity.

According to AFP and other reports on the 26th, on Tuesday, the Panama Canal Authority stated that the bidding for the operating rights of the two new ports would be open to all interested parties.

At a press briefing, Ricardo Vazquez, director of the Panama Canal Authority, emphasized, "We must open the bidding to all interested parties and seek as broad competition as possible." He reiterated that the canal operator aims to maintain the neutrality of the Panama Canal by allowing all parties to participate equally in the bidding.

Earlier this year, the U.S. government hyped up the idea that China "controls" the Panama Canal waterway, even threatening to "reclaim" it. Both China and Panama have refuted such smear campaigns.

Vazquez revealed at the meeting that despite the U.S. threat to reassert control over this key trade route, China remains one of the participants interested in the two new port construction projects.

When asked whether awarding the future project to Chinese companies would exacerbate tensions with the United States, he said he would not make any guesses.

According to a report by PMC, a well-known American media group, Vazquez also added that the authority currently has more urgent matters to handle.

"You cross the bridge when you reach the river," Vazquez said, "First, we need to get to that point, and then we can discuss related issues. Now, we must conduct as broad competition as possible, receive proposals from all sides, and establish evaluation criteria that serve the best interests of the Panama Canal and the country."

He also admitted that the dispute between China and the United States over the ownership of the Panama Canal ports was seen by the authority as an opportunity to advance the new dock projects. "We have never received such high global attention. Let's take this opportunity to promote the proposal for the dock projects."

Photo: Ricardo Vazquez, Director of the Panama Canal Authority. Visual China

According to Panamanian plans, these two transfer terminals will be located on both sides of the Panama Canal. The Corozal terminal will serve ships in the Pacific region, while the Telfers terminal will be built on the Atlantic coast. After the project is completed, Panama's annual container handling capacity will increase from the current 9.5 million standard containers (TEU) to 15 million standard containers.

The winning bidder will not only obtain the right to build the port facilities but also have a 20-year operating right. The port construction project is expected to cost 2.6 billion dollars, but the exact funding ratio between the Panamanian government and the winning bidder is still unclear.

International companies that have expressed interest include COSCO (Hong Kong) Group Limited, Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), Singapore Port Authority (PSA), Evergreen Marine Corporation (EMC) from Taiwan, Germany's Hapag-Lloyd (HPL), Denmark's Maersk Group (Maersk), and France's CMA CGM.

AFP reported that the Panama Canal Authority has begun meeting with interested parties to prepare for the bidding process.

The authority expects to complete the pre-qualification documents between December this year and January 2026, finalize the contract by the end of 2026, and start operations in 2029. "The final evaluation criteria are still being developed," Vazquez said. He also pointed out, "The final evaluation criteria are still being developed."

According to reports, these two new terminals are a core component of Panama's modernization and expansion plan for the Panama Canal. In mid-September, the Panamanian government announced this ten-year plan, which is estimated to cost 8.5 billion dollars.

Named the "Vision 2025-2035", the strategy outlines four priority areas: building a new reservoir on the Indio River, constructing a 76-kilometer-long liquefied petroleum gas pipeline, building new container terminals, and expanding logistics corridors.

Vazquez explained at the time that this ten-year plan aims to ensure the competitiveness of the canal route to adapt to changes in the global trade landscape.

He pointed out that the volume of propane, butane, and ethane transported from the U.S. Gulf Coast to Asian destinations such as China, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam has been continuously increasing. He predicted that the demand for transporting such energy products will double in the next decade. If the canal's capacity is not improved, Panama may lose business to other competing routes.

At that time, when asked whether Chinese companies would be allowed to bid for the new terminal franchise rights, Vazquez did not mention specific countries. He then said that after China joined the World Trade Organization, it laid the foundation for globalization and shaped the shipping patterns of the canal over several decades. However, this model "is now under pressure due to trade disputes."

He cited the global trade war initiated by President Trump upon his return to the White House as an example, pointing out that recent companies have accelerated the transfer of goods to avoid the risk of tariff implementation, leading to a surge in freight volume from Asia to the United States.

"The market fluctuations are so great that what happens tomorrow is hard to predict," Vazquez said. "This uncertainty makes it crucial for the canal to expand its capacity and remain competitive."

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