Design for Panama Canal tunnel gets under way
2 September 2021Design work has started for the tunnel forming part of Metro de Panama’s US$2.5bn metro Line No 3 that will pass under the Panama Canal.
Four consortia participated in the bidding process for the tunnel’s design. The winner was Consorcio Túnel de Las Américas (Tunnel of the Americas Consortium) comprising Grupo Typsa and WSP. It attained the best technical and economic score having submitted the lowest bid. Work on the US$9.86m design tender is expected to take 15 months.
The development represents a win for the tunnelling sector as a tunnel was not originally part of the Line 3 plans – it was only after the idea of a fourth bridge across the canal was abandoned that the tunnel option was revitalised. With a total tunnel length of 5.3km, only 64m will be under the canal. Construction is expected to start in February 2023, although the tender for it has yet to be issued.
The contract for the 25km monorail Line No 3 (which does not include the tunnel) was awarded in November 2019 to South Korean consortium HPH Joint Venture, comprising Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Posco. Running roughly parallel to the Pan-American highway, the line is planned to have 14 stations of which only one will be underground. When operational, the line is expected to carry around 160,000 users commuting between the Panama Oeste sector and Panama City.
