Panama Canal prepares for the next century

By Staff -- Logistics Management, 11/1/1998

First, the United Kingdom returned Hong Kong to the Chinese government. Shortly afterward, Portugal relinquished Macao to China. Now, it's the Panama Canal's turn. Currently U.S. territory, the canal zone will revert to the government of Panama on Dec. 31, 1999.

On that date, the Panama Canal Authority, an agency of the Panamanian government, will replace the Panama Canal Commission, a U.S. federal agency that now oversees the canal's operations.

One thing that won't change is the canal's top administration. In September, Alberto Aleman Zubieta, the Panama Canal Commission's current administrator, was sworn in as the first administrator of the new Panamanian agency. He will serve simultaneously as administrator of both agencies until the end of next year; his Panama Canal Authority term expires in 2005.

At his swearing-in, Aleman characterized his responsibilities as a "challenging mission." The Panama Canal Commission has begun a massive, $1 billion canal-widening and infrastructure-improvement project. When completed, the project is expected to increase vessel throughput by about 20 percent. Meanwhile, shippers and vessel operators are anxiously awaiting Dec. 31, 1999, to assess whether the handover of the canal will have any impact on costs and operations. Aleman's appointment should help alleviate some of those concerns. Otherwise, canal users will have to prepare in advance for possible changes and then just wait and see.