Making up 18.53% of the country’s GDP at a value of $6.6bn in 2014, transport, storage and communications has historically been a pillar of Panama’s growth. The opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 and the subsequent handover of the passage from the US to local authorities at the end of 1999 has been a catalyst of the country’s economic success. Many activities related to...
Panama has a long history of transport and logistics infrastructure investment, with one of the most significant certainly being the widening of the Panama Canal. With an initial budget of $5.25bn, recurrent costs have raised the cost of the project to more than $6bn. Some estimate the grand total may reach $7bn, over 30% more than originally planned. Cost overrun claims...
With access to both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans within a few kilometres of each other, Panama is one of the best-located countries for maritime activities globally. Added to its location, the Panama Canal and its expansion make it a key player in world commerce. The current container-handling capacity for the Pacific side of Panama is estimated at 5m twenty-foot...
Although historically the Panama Canal has been the top revenue earner, the contribution of canal revenues as a percentage in the transport and logistics sector has been gradually declining. In 2008 income from the canal represented 46.6% of sector GDP, while in 2013 it amounted to 37%. This shows that other transport modalities, mainly land-based cargo, have increased...
The aviation industry in South-east Asia suffered an unprecedented number of fatal tragedies in 2014. March saw the mysterious disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, followed by the shooting down over Ukraine of another Malaysia Airlines plane in July, and then, closer to home, the crash of Indonesia Air Asia’s Flight 8501 in December. These events rocked passenger...
With the new administration of President Joko Widodo committed to spending a greater share of the budget on improving the nation’s transport infrastructure and moves under way to provide an enhanced organisational and administrative framework for the sector, there is a new sense of energy with regards to transport in Indonesia. Indeed, with logistics costs equivalent to around...
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