THE PANAMA CANAL Authority (ACP) and the international cosortium GUPC, after months of brinksmanship, signed an agreement on Friday August 1  that formalizes a deal reached in March for the completion of the third set of locks.

"Now what remains is to continue to work within the agreement to finish the project," said ACP Administrator Jorge Luis Quijano.

The lock project, the largest component of the expansion, is 73 percent complete. The overall project is 78% complete.

GUPC consists of the companies Sacyr Vallehermoso (Spain), Impregilo (Italy), Jan de Nul (Belgium) and CUSA (Panama).

The agreement does not address the cost overruns the consortium has experienced. These claims must be managed according to the mechanisms established in the contract.

"GUPC expects this collaboration with the ACP will be fruitful and lead successfully to the completion of the works on time” says a GUPC staterment.