Three consortiums comprising companies from Brazil, Spain, Mexico, Peru and China will compete for a contract to build Line 2 of the Panama Metro, that institution’s executive secretary, Roberto Roy, told Efe.

Two of the participants are Consorcio Linea 2, made up of Brazil’s Constructora Norberto Odebrecht and Spain’s FCC Construcciones; and UTE Panama II, consisting of Spain’s Dragados S.A., Mexico’s Ingenieros Civiles Asociados and Peru’s Graña y Montero.

The other is Consorcio PANAMetro – Consorcio Internacional Metro de Panama L2, which comprises the Chinese companies China Harbour Engineering Company and China Railway First Group and Spain’s Corsan-Corviam Construction.

On Thursday, Roy presided over a ceremony in which the Panama Metro received bids for the construction of the line, which will be 22 kilometers (13.5 miles) long and connect the eastern suburbs of the capital with Line 1, which covers a north-south route.

All of the consortiums correctly presented their proposals and complied with a requirement to submit a $50 million bid bond.

The winner of the auction, to be determined based on a point system, will have 46 months to complete the project, Roy said.

Odebrecht and FCC built the Panama Metro’s Line 1, which began operating in April of last year, at a cost of $2.1 billion.

Roy previously estimated that Line 2 and a future Line 3, which will extend to the capital’s western outskirts, will require an investment outlay of approximately $5 billion.

Unlike Line 1, which has an underground section, Line 2 will be completely above ground. EFE