Panama on Monday began the expansion of its interoceanic canal by collapsing a hill on the riverside of the Pacific route.
Panamanian President Martin Torrijos triggered 15 tons of explosives to collapse Cerro Paraiso hill that will allow the construction of an approximately seven-km-long canal.
The expansion work, which is expected to take 10 years to complete and cost 5.25 billion U.S. dollars, will double the transport capacity of the 50-mile (80-km) canal.
The new water-passage will begin west of the current Miraflores floodgates and extend in parallel to Miraflores lake and the Pedro Miguel floodgates to meet at Corte Culebra near Puente Centenario bridge, in front of Paraiso community.
The ceremony marking the start of the expansion was attended by presidents Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua; Elias Antonio Saca of El Salvador; Manuel Zelaya of Honduras; former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Organization of American States Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza.
The canal was built between 1904-1914 by the United States, which handed over the control of the waterway to Panama in December 1999.
According to Panamanian authorities, the expansion project will directly generate 7,000 jobs.
Source: Xinhua
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