THE LAST GATE for the third set of locks for the Panama Canal expansion project will be set in place on Tuesday April 28, and flooding will begin in June, says the principal contractor Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC)

After verifying that all seals and parts of the lock are installed, Gatun Lake water will be channeled to slowly flood the chambers. This process can take three months in each complex lock, said Sergi Ametller, GUPC electromechanical director. The flooding of the Pacific locks will be weeks after the Atlantic.
The expansion program had advanced 87.6% by the end of March and, according to the GUPC plan, the new locks must be completed in late 2016 to begin commercial operations in April of the following year.