Sacyr’s request for more money

THE Spanish construction group Sacyr, the leader of the consortium Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC), confirmed that it had now completed the work that it had been commissioned to undertake on the Panama Canal and that the first ship will pass through the expanded third lock on June 26.

Unfortunately the work has cost nearly double what had originally been forecast and there also appears to be a deficit of up to €3 billion which the company hopes to reclaim from the Government of Panama.

The president of Sacyr, Manuel Manrique, has indicated that the causes of the additional costs were due to the poor quality of materials, strikes and unexpected changes in regulations so he hopes that the matter will be settled amicably although it may go to court in Miami.

At the moment, it appears that the company would be prepared to settle out of court, and possibly for a lesser amount but that would at least allow them not to lose money on the work undertaken.