he Panama Canal reaches 107 years this Sunday as a “facilitator of world trade”, despite the impact of the covid-19 pandemic, which accelerated changes and forced sanitary practices to save the well-being of its human team and the crews of its clients, highlighted the waterway.
Since its inauguration on August 15, 1914, the interoceanic highway “has served as a shortcut for more than 1.1 million ship transits, reducing distance, time and costs in the transport of goods, while positively impacting the environment” , indicated the Administration of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP).
The ACP noted that “our Green Route has contributed to reducing more than 830 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), allowing ships to save fuel by crossing a shorter sea lane, and moving greater volumes of cargo from the start-up of the expanded Canal, in June 2016 “.
In this sense, the Canal is heading to be “carbon neutral” by 2030, reaffirming its “commitment to sustainability” and the importance of “reducing the carbon footprint of its operations.”
“The world is demanding that companies offer services and products that have a very low carbon footprint, so we are going to make investments to adapt to that reality, in line with our environmental tradition,” said the administrator of the waterway, Ricaurte Vasquez.
The ACP considers that a primary element of its environmental strategy is to “assure” the water from the water sources of its Hydrographic Basin, from which it supplies half of the country’s population, and is the main input for the operation of the via.
He recalled that with its expansion, the interoceanic highway consolidated the role of Panama as a point of connectivity, promoting the convergence of 180 maritime routes that link 1,920 ports in 170 countries.
The legal framework of the Panama Canal has allowed the highway to continue operating profitably for the benefit of the country since its transfer at noon on December 31, 1999, with a management model that guarantees its direct and indirect contributions to economic development. of the country, highlighted the ACP.
Get Vaccinated and stay safe!!